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Enbridge Vacates Gulf of Mexico Platforms as Francine Nears Landfall

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Enbridge Inc. (ENB - Free Report) has withdrawn its staff from several platforms in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in response to the advancing tropical storm Francine, which is anticipated to cause a landfall in Louisiana. Operations at these platforms are expected to continue via remote operators.

Enbridge vacated the South Marsh Island 76, Ship Shoal 207 and Ship Shoal 332 platforms. Notably, the South Marsh Island 76, which connects a natural gas offshore pipeline with a transportation capacity of 1 billion cubic feet per day, has been affected.

According to ENB, the Manta Ray Gas Gathering system has declared force majeure. Consequently, the system stopped receiving natural gas at the Green Canyon 158 Brutus receipt point. Declaring force majeure allows an entity to suspend contractual obligations over unforeseen circumstances. Enbridge has mentioned that services at the receipt point would resume once the company replaces the malfunctioning valve.

Francine is anticipated to affect several oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico region. This has caused energy giants like Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell to shut down production at the offshore platforms and evacuate their staff.

ENB’s Zacks Rank and Key Picks

Currently, ENB carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the energy sector are PEDEVCO Corp. (PED - Free Report) , MPLX LP (MPLX - Free Report) and VAALCO Energy (EGY - Free Report) . PEDEVCO presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while MPLX and VAALCO Energy carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

PEDEVCO is engaged in the acquisition and development of energy assets in the United States and Pacific Rim countries. The company stands to benefit significantly from its holdings in the Permian Basin, one of the most prolific oil-producing regions in the United States, as well as in the D-J Basin in Colorado, which includes more than 150 high-quality drilling locations. Combined with bullish oil prices, this is expected to boost the company's production and overall profitability.

MPLX LP owns and operates a wide range of midstream assets. The partnership's midstream assets include oil and natural gas gathering systems and transportation pipelines for crude, natural gas and refined petroleum products. MPLX is least exposed to commodity price fluctuations as it generates stable fee-based revenues. Furthermore, it surpasses its industry peers in terms of distribution yield, reflecting its commitment to returning capital to its unitholders.

VAALCO Energy is an independent energy company involved in upstream business operationswith a diversified presence in Africa and Canada. Having a large inventory of drilling locations in premium Canadian Acreage, the company’s production outlook seems bright.


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