(Reuters) – Canada’s Enbridge Inc reported a 4.34% rise in first-quarter profit on Friday, as a surge in demand for oil and gas boosted the pipeline operator’s shipment volumes.
Canada, the world’s fourth-largest crude producer, is looking for ways to boost pipeline utilisation amid surging U.S LNG export volumes to Europe, as it seeks to slash its dependence on Russian energy, following its invasion of Ukraine.
This has helped Enbridge, which moves about 20% of all gas consumed in the U.S and most of Canada’s crude exports to the country.
Enbridge said it transported 3 million barrels per day (bpd) on its Mainline system in the first quarter, higher than 2.75 million a year earlier.
Separately, the company said it would jointly develop a low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia production and export facility with energy portfolio company Humble Midstream, at its Ingleside Energy Center (EIEC) in Texas.
The Calgary-based company’s adjusted earnings rose to C$1.7 billion ($1.33 billion), or 84 Canadian cents per share, in the three months to March 31, from C$1.63 billion, or 81 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.
($1 = 1.2827 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Rithika Krishna in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
