FTC Approves Modification of Enbridge Inc. Final Order

The Federal Trade Commission approved a petition by Enbridge Inc. to reopen and set aside the Commission’s 2017 final consent order related to Enbridge’s merger with Spectra Energy Corp. The FTC determined that the requirements of the final consent order are no longer necessary because Enbridge no longer holds any ownership interest in a competing natural gas pipeline called the Discovery Pipeline.

By acquiring Spectra, Enbridge gained an indirect ownership interest in the Discovery Pipeline, which is the main competitor to the Walker Ridge Pipeline, a pipeline which Enbridge owns and operates. The FTC alleged that Enbridge’s acquisition of Spectra would result in Enbridge having access to competitively sensitive information about the Discovery Pipeline. Without adequate guardrails, Enbridge could have engaged in anticompetitive conduct that would have made the Discovery Pipeline a less effective competitor or facilitated coordination in the industry.

The FTC’s 2017 order with Enbridge settled charges alleging the merger between Enbridge and Spectra would harm competition in the market for natural gas pipeline transportation in production areas in the Gulf of America. Under the order, Enbridge was required to establish firewalls to limit its access to non-public information about the Discovery Pipeline. Also, with two limited exceptions, board members of the Spectra-affiliated companies that hold a 40 percent share in the Discovery Pipeline were required to recuse themselves from any vote involving the pipeline.

In December 2024, Enbridge filed a petition asking the Commission to reopen and set aside the 2017 order since it sold its minority ownership interest in the Discovery Pipeline to the majority owner of the partnership that held the Discovery Pipeline, the Williams Companies, Inc. Given Enbridge’s sale of all interests in this competing pipeline, the competitive concerns and the remedial provisions of the 2017 order that were intended to address them are no longer necessary, the FTC’s order states.

The Commission voted 2-0 to approve Enbridge’s petition to reopen and modify the order.