Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Colin Gruending: Praneeth, thanks for the question. So as you know, the basins tightening serially here every quarter as more production comes on — and by the way, Corpus, I think is trading at $0.30 or $0.40 premium to Houston, just for distance and loading advantages. So there’s a structural advantage to Corpus. We think the timing of this open season, and we’ve sounded customers is going to fit their pistol. I think with your question with respect to offshore [bridge] I think if that were to go ahead or one of them go ahead, I think the competitors that would suffer most of the smaller, probably Houston-based ship channel, less economic docks, whereas I think the Corpus docks will remain advantaged. So we see a pretty positive outlook for Gray Oak and Ingleside.

I think you asked a question about take-or-pays. So Ingleside is take-or-pay for us entirely. And it’s fed by [indiscernible] to all 5 types from the Permian and shippers typically have a take or pay on that. One of them is Gray Oak, which we own most of. So it’s basically a take-or-pay model for us all the way to the dock.

Operator: Your next question comes from the line Zackery Van Everen from TPH.

Zackery Van Everen: Perfect. Just a follow-up on Gray Oak. When that open season wraps, how fast will that volume come online?

Colin Gruending: Yes. Thanks. So Open Season scheduled to close June 28, and we’ll bring the capacity on in 2 tranches, 2/3 of it in the second quarter of 2025 and the other piece of it a number of months later. So — that’s how we see it coming on relatively quickly, and it’s a very capital efficient, low multiple expansion for us mostly strike reducing agent, a couple of tanks pretty executable.

Zackery Van Everen: Perfect. That makes sense. And then maybe flipping to the gas side. On your Venice project. I saw you guys delivered a little bit of gas to the Gator Express pipeline. Maybe an update on the time line for that facility or that project to be online.

Cynthia Hansen: Yes. Thanks for the question, Zack. It’s under construction now, and we’re working to get that in by the end of the year.

Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Patrick Kenny from National Bank Financial.

Patrick Kenny: Just maybe on your power business on the back of the Tennessee Ridge line expansion. And as you talked about this new demand profile for more reliable base load capacity, whether it’s from data centers or other industrial customers. Curious if you might be open to integrating combined cycle or other gas-fired opportunities now within your power segment. Assuming you can maintain your long-term utility-like contracted profile.

Matthew Akman: Pat, it’s Matthew. Thanks for the question. It’s not really on our radar to expand into gas-fired right now. We think that you’re right that the data centers and a lot of these customers obviously want reliable 24/7 power, but they also want the renewable credits. So you’ll see gas-fired will be, I think, a real important part of meeting this increased electricity demand, but so will renewable and then the customer will take sort of that combined bundled 24/7 power plus [risk] off the grid. So we’re very focused on building out, as we talked at Investor Day, are late-stage projects that have interconnection agreements. . And we’ll work with the gas-fired and obviously, with Cynthia’s business in order to make sure customers get the product that they need.

I think longer term, you’re right, there’s a potential for — potential for gas fired. But again, we’re not really focused on it right now, and we would have to meet our commercial model utility-like contracts, but again, not a focus right now.

Colin Gruending: Probably the biggest pop we’re going to see from power generation on the gas side will be in Cynthia’s business. And [indiscernible] a lot of gas-fired generation is still 50%, 60% utilization definitely go up. A lot of gas-fired generation does not have long-term contracts that could happen. And because typically, it’s been — we haven’t had as long of utilization full year for the pipelines now we do. So there’s probably going to be a requirement for some of the gas-fired generation folks to firm up, and that’s on storage as well. But yes, we’ll keep our eyes open. And I don’t think there’s any doubt electricity demand is going up.

Patrick Kenny: Yes, that’s great. And Greg, maybe just a follow-up on your comments there around gas storage. Just curious in light of the extreme cold out West here in the quarter and perhaps a view towards more extreme highs and lows in terms of temperatures going forward. If you’re seeing incremental demand from customers for more storage capacity and how you’re thinking about this opportunity from a brownfield, greenfield or perhaps M&A standpoint?

Greg Ebel: Yes. Maybe taking your last one first. We did — I think the team was on it and ahead of the game when we picked up assets on the storage side last year, both Trace and Aiken Creek and others have stepped in there now. And yes, we continue to add additional cavern space where we can from a brownfield perspective. I would say also on the distribution side, we see that, and let’s not forget, 1/3 of our distribution storage in Ontario is market-based. So Cynthia, do you want to make any comments on what you’re seeing from a pricing or even term perspective?

Cynthia Hansen: Yes. So we’ve seen our recontracting prices go up from 100% to 150%. So there’s really strong demand for that. We’re bringing on a little bit more this year with Tres Cavern 4, so that will be on by the end of the year. We continue to get inbounds for looking at what we can do brownfield and even greenfield. I mean, it’d have to be a pretty big demand to get across that and that would take more time. But we’ll look to optimize the existing structures that we have.

Michele Harradence: Oh, I was just going to say on the GDS side, we’re seeing very similar things to what I’ve done to what Cynthia quoted in terms of just the recontracting rates, but a lot of customers who previously maybe were just a couple of years that they were signing up for or going up to 4, even 5 years.