Enbridge Inc., which has plans to construct a $5.5-billion oil pipeline through northern B.C., posted third-quarter earnings of $157 million, about half of its earnings during the same period last year.
This year's third-quarter earnings - for the three months ending in September - were impacted by costs of $85 million over a pair of oil spills from pipeline breaks in the United States.
"Along with ensuring the continued delivery of crude oil and mitigation of disruptions for our shippers, addressing the impacts to the people, the communities and the environment affected by the spills remains our top priority," Enbridge president and CEO Patrick Daniel said in a statement.
"Apart from the spills, Enbridge's core businesses in liquids pipelines, natural gas transportation and green energy continued to deliver solid and reliable operating and financial performance through the third quarter of 2010," said Daniel.
Calgary-based Enbridge's earnings reflect the clean-up costs of its American subsidiary before insurance recoveries. The company expected to recover much of its cleanup costs through its insurance.
For the first nine months of 2010, Enbridge has had earnings of $637 million, down from $1.26 billion during the same period last year.
Enbridge's U.S. subsidiary suffered a major spill in Michigan in July which leaked an estimated three million litres of oil, some of it into the Kalamazoo River, sparking a massive clean-up effort.
In September, an Enbridge pipeline in Illinois suffered a smaller leak.
Daniel noted that the causes of the two spills are under investigation. "We are committed to taking the learnings from these incidents, applying them to future operations and sharing them with industry to reduce the likelihood of such incidents in the future," he said.
The oil spill in Michigan - one of the largest in the region - reiterated concerns from groups opposed to the massive Northern Gateway project in northern B.C. The most vocal opponents of the pipeline have been First Nations and environmental groups, which say the risks of a spill are not worth any economic benefits from the project.
Enbridge says the pipeline will be built to the highest safety standards, as well as touting the jobs the project will create.
The 1,170-km pipeline from Edmonton to Kitimat, which will pass just north of Prince George, is meant to open a new market for Alberta oil sands crude in Asia.
Calgary-based Enbridge's Northern Gateway project from Edmonton to Kitimat is just beginning a two-year review by a three-person federal panel. If the project gets regulatory approval, and financing, Enbridge expects the pipeline could be complete in 2016.
During a conference call to discuss its financial results, Daniel said he expected a public hearing on the project in the last three months of 2011.
