please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message enbridge inc. type public traded as tsx enb nyse enb s & p tsx 60 component industry oil and gas founded april 30 1949 1949 04 30 as interprovincial pipe line company founder imperial oil headquarters calgary alberta canada key people al monaco ceo services pipeline transport oil storage revenue c 32.9 billion 1 net income c 629 million 1 total assets c 57.6 billion 1 total equity c 13.5 billion 1 number of employees 11 000 subsidiaries enbridge pipelines enbridge technology enbridge gas distribution enbridge energy partners 15 % website www.enbridge.com enbridge inc. is an energy delivery company based in calgary canada . it focuses on the transportation distribution and generation of energy primarily in north america . as a transporter of energy enbridge operates in canada and the united states the longest crude oil and liquid hydrocarbons transportation system in the world . 2 as a distributor of energy it owns and operates canada s largest natural gas distribution network providing distribution services in ontario quebec new brunswick and new york state . 3 contents 1 history 2 operations 2.1 oil and product pipelines 2.2 natural gas 2.3 renewable energy 2.4 power transmission 2.5 rail 3 spills and violations 3.1 protests and controversies 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit the company was initially incorporated by imperial oil as interprovincial pipe line ltd. ipl on april 30 1949 shortly after canada s first major oil discovery at leduc alberta . 4 5 6 at the same year the company built its first oil pipeline from leduc to regina saskatchewan . 4 6 in 1950 it was expanded through gretna manitoba to superior wisconsin in the united states . 4 7 to operate the united states portion of the pipeline the lakehead pipe line company now enbridge energy partners was created . in 1953 the pipeline was expanded to sarnia ontario and in 1956 to toronto and buffalo new york . 4 in 1953 ipl was listed on the toronto and montreal exchanges . in 1983 ipl built norman wells pipeline and joined frontier pipeline company . 4 in 1986 through a series of stakes exchanges ipl gained control of home oil and in 1988 it changed it name to interhome energy inc. 4 8 in 1991 it changed its name to interprovincial pipe line inc. in 1991 . 8 in 1992 interprovincial pipe line inc. was acquired by interprovincial pipe line system inc. which changed its name to ipl energy inc in 1994 after acquisition of consumers gas now enbridge gas distribution inc. and diversification into the gas distribution business . 4 8 in addition it acquired stakes in altagas services and the electric utility of cornwall ontario . 4 through 1990s the company expanded its gas pipeline network and acquired stake in the chicap oil pipeline . it also built the athabasca pipeline from northeastern alberta to the main pipeline system . 4 in 1995 the company also expanded its activities outside of north america by taking a stake in the ocensa pipeline . this stake was sold in 2009 . 9 ipl energy became enbridge inc in 1998 . 8 the enbridge name is a portmanteau from energy and bridge . 4 in 2000s enbridge introduced several large projects . in 2006 it announced the enbridge northern gateway pipelines project from athabasca to kitimat british columbia . 10 same year it announced the alberta clipper pipeline project from hardisty alberta to superior wisconsin to connect oil sands production area with the existing network . this pipeline became operational in 2010 . 11 in 2009 enbridge bought the sarnia photovoltaic power plant and expanded it up to 80 mw which was the world s largest photovoltaic power station that time . 12 operations edit enbridge building in edmonton alberta enbridge transports crude oil liquids and natural gas in pipelines that total approximately 46 670 kilometres 29 000 mi in canada and the united states . oil and product pipelines edit the company is the largest transporter of crude oil in canada with 2.2 million barrels per day 350 10 3 m3 d of oil and liquids . 6 the enbridge pipeline system is the world s longest crude oil and liquids pipeline system located in both canada and the united states . enbridge has several new capacities and expansion projects including construction of northern gateway expansion of alberta clipper renovation of line 6 reversal of line 9 and others . 13 its light oil market access initiative is a project light crude oil from north dakota and western canada to refineries in ontario quebec and the u.s. midwest . eastern access including a reversal of line 9 is a project to deliver oil western canada and bakken to refineries in eastern canada and the midwest and eastern u.s. 13 14 western gulf coast access including reversal and expansion of the seaway pipeline and the flanagan south pipeline is a plan to connect canadian heavy oil supply to refineries along the gulf coast of the united states . 15 16 natural gas edit enbridge gas meters . enbridge also gathers processes and transports natural gas . it has interest in the 2 986 kilometres 1 855 mi alliance pipeline and the 560 kilometres 350 mi vector pipeline . 6 through its subsidiary enbridge gas distribution it is canada s largest natural gas distribution utility . renewable energy edit on 23 october 2008 enbridge fuelcell energy and satcon technology corporation launched the world s first hybrid fuel cell energy system for enbridge s natural gas pipeline operations in ontario . 17 the 10 million project received grants of 2.3 million from natural resources canada and 500 000 from the government of ontario s ministry of research and innovation 18 but has not proven to be financially viable with current electricity prices . power transmission edit enbridge has entered the power transmission business to facilitate the import and export of power allowing markets to have efficient and economic access to existing and new generation sources . enbridge s montana alberta tie line matl is a 300 megawatt mw 230 kilovolt kv electrical transmission line allowing movement of power between alberta and montana . the matl project which was placed in service the fall of 2013 supports ongoing development of a rich wind powered generation resource and allows electrical energy to flow in both directions . the transmission line is 210 miles 345 km long and runs between the lethbridge alberta area and the great falls montana area . roughly 1 3 of the line is in canada and 2 3 in the u.s. 19 20 rail edit enbridge rail facilities are responding to producer and shipper demands for more flexible economical transportation of high quality crude oil from the bakken formation located in eastern montana western north dakota and southern saskatchewan and manitoba . spills and violations edit this section may lend undue weight to certain ideas incidents or controversies . please help to create a more balanced presentation . discuss and resolve this issue before removing this message . september 2014 this section might be slanted towards recent events . please try to keep recent events in historical perspective . september 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message using data from enbridge s own reports the polaris institute calculated that 804 spills occurred on enbridge pipelines between 1999 and 2010 . these spills released approximately 161 475 barrels 25 672.5 m3 of crude oil into the environment . 21 on july 4 2002 an enbridge pipeline ruptured in a marsh near the town of cohasset minnesota in itasca county spilling 6 000 barrels 950 m3 of crude oil . in an attempt to keep the oil from contaminating the mississippi river the minnesota department of natural resources set a controlled burn that lasted for one day and created a smoke plume about 1 mile 1.6 km high and 5 miles 8.0 km long . 22 in 2006 there were 67 reportable spills totaling 5 663 barrels 900.3 m3 on enbridge s energy and transportation and distribution system ; in 2007 there were 65 reportable spills totaling 13 777 barrels 2 190.4 m3 23 on march 18 2006 approximately 613 barrels 97.5 m3 of crude oil were released when a pump failed at enbridge s willmar terminal in saskatchewan . 24 according to enbridge roughly half the oil was recovered . on november 28 2007 two workers were killed when an uncontrollable blaze started at an enbridge terminal tank farm in clearbrook minnesota . the fire forced enbridge to shutdown the operating pipelines in the area temporarily halting roughly 1 5 of us imports and increasing the price by nearly 1 per barrel . the pipe had leaked two weeks before and a temporary repair had been put in place . as workers were removing the temporary repair oil began leaking and the fumes ignited . as of 2013 local municipal water supplies in clearbrook would be insufficient to put out another fire should one occur . on january 1 2007 an enbridge pipeline that runs from superior wisconsin to near whitewater wisconsin cracked open and spilled 50 000 us gallons 190 m3 of crude oil onto farmland and into a drainage ditch . 25 the same pipeline was struck by construction crews on february 2 2007 in rusk county wisconsin spilling 201 000 us gallons 760 m3 of crude of which about 87 000 gallons were recovered . some of the oil filled a hole more than 20 feet 6.1 m deep and contaminated the local water table . 26 27 in april 2007 roughly 6 227 barrels 990.0 m3 of crude oil spilled into a field downstream of an enbridge pumping station near glenavon saskatchewan . 24 in 2009 enbridge energy partners a u.s. affiliate of enbridge inc. agreed to pay 1.1 million to settle a lawsuit brought against the company by the state of wisconsin for 545 environmental violations . 28 in a news release from wisconsin s department of justice attorney general j. b. van hollen said ... the incidents of violation were numerous and widespread and resulted in impacts to the streams and wetlands throughout the various watersheds . 29 the violations were incurred while building portions of the company s southern access pipeline a project to transport crude from the oil sands region in alberta to chicago . in january 2009 an enbridge pipeline leaked about 4 000 barrels 640 m3 of oil southeast of fort mcmurray at the company s cheecham terminal tank farm . most of the spilled oil was contained within berms but about 1 % of the oil about 40 barrels 6.4 m3 sprayed into the air and coated nearby snow and trees . 30 on january 2 2010 enbridge s line 2 ruptured near neche north dakota releasing about 3 784 barrels of crude oil of which 2 237 barrels were recovered . 27 31 in april 2010 an enbridge pipeline ruptured spilling more than 9.5 barrels 1.51 m3 of oil in virden manitoba . this oil leaked into the boghill creek which eventually connects to the assiniboine river . 32 in the july 2010 kalamazoo river oil spill a leaking pipeline spilled more than 1 000 000 us gallons 3 800 m3 of oil sands crude oil into talmadge creek leading to the kalamazoo river in southwest michigan on july 26 near marshall michigan . 33 34 a united states environmental protection agency update of the kalamazoo river spill concluded the pipeline rupture caused the largest inland oil spill in midwest history and reported the cost of the cleanup at 36.7 million us as of november 14 2011 . 33 the cleanup is unfinished as of march 2013 . 35 phmsa