(Reuters) Pipeline operator Enbridge raised its short-term profit growth forecast and said it will invest about $500 million in expanding its pipeline and storage assets to improve its U.S. Gulf Coast presence.
Enbridge, which operates North America's biggest oil pipeline network, the Mainline, said it will acquire two marine docks and land from Flint Hills Resources for about $200 million.
The assets are next to Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center, the largest crude oil storage and export terminal by volume in the United States.
The company will invest another $100 million on the expansion of its Gray Oak Pipeline, a 850-mile crude oil pipeline that connects to some market centers in Texas.
Enbridge sanctioned about $200 million of offshore pipelines to service Shell and Equinor's planned offshore oil and gas project Sparta in the Gulf of Mexico.
The investment plans come over a month after Enbridge said it will reduce its workforce by 650 jobs, or 5%, in a bid to cut costs.
The Calgary, Alberta-based firm raised its near-term core profit growth forecast to between 7% and 9% through 2026, saying the increase is primarily driven by the acquisitions, announced in September and expected to close in 2024.
In September, the company said it would acquire three U.S. gas utility companies from Dominion Energy for $14 billion.
