Prince George, BC – Enbridge Inc’s President and CEO says the company finished 2012 with a solid fourth quarter and full year results that met targets…

The company’s adjusted earnings for the last quarter of 2012 were $327-million dollars or $0.42 per share.  Total earnings for the year were up 11-percent over last year to $1.3-billion dollars ($1.62 per share).

President and CEO, Al Monaco, says, "This increase is particularly noteworthy in light of significant prefunding, which we completed in the year for future growth projects."

Just this morning, the company has announced its entering into an agreement with Energy Transfer Partners, LP, for the joint development of a project to access the Eastern Gulf Coast refinery market from the US midwest at an investment cost of between $1.2 and $1.7-billion dollars.

Monaco says the company continues to implement enhancements in key operational areas such as pipeline integrity, control centre operation, leak detection capability, environmental protection and response with an operational risk management plan that’s designed to position Enbridge as an industry leader.  "Since 2011, we have conducted what we believe has been the most extensive integrity management program in the history of the North American pipeline industry."

The Joint Review Panel hearings into Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline project resume next week in Prince Rupert. (for more information, click here)