UPDATE 3-Enbridge says slowly resumes operations after Canadian wildfire

(Adds details on Northern Gateway, French wind projects;
updates shares)
By Julie Gordon
VANCOUVER, May 12 (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc ENB.TO ENB.N
said on Thursday it was steadily resuming service on its
pipeline network through Canada's energy heartland about a week
after a massive wildfire spread through the Fort McMurray,
Alberta, area, forcing a shutdown.
Canada's largest pipeline company also reported a
higher-than-expected quarterly profit, as crude shipments
increased.
The Calgary-based company said the shutdown, which included
all pipelines in and out of its Cheecham terminal some 50 km (31
miles) south of the fire-ravaged city, affected some 900,000
barrels per day of volume on its system.
Chief Executive Officer Al Monaco said operations had
resumed at Cheecham and that the Woodland pipeline was ready to
restart. The company was waiting to get access to conduct a
fly-over inspection as fire crews were still working in the
area.
He added that the roughly 100-km (62.14 mile) portion of the
Athabasca line from Cheecham to the Kirby Lake terminal was
expected to resume operations over the weekend. Line 18, which
travels south from Cheecham to Edmonton, resumed on Wednesday.
"So (we're making) good progress on getting our systems back
in operations, but the process isn't like turning on a tap,"
Monaco said on a conference call. "You've got to expect some
period of ramp-up to full capacity."
Enbridge shares were up 1.74 percent at C$51.60 in Toronto.
Monaco also said Enbridge is focused on securing support for
its Northern Gateway project as currently designed, though he
did not entirely discount changing the terminus location.
The proposed pipeline, from Alberta to Kitimat, British
Columbia, is opposed by many coastal aboriginal groups.
On renewable energy, an investment decision on the first of
three newly acquired offshore wind projects in France is
expected in early 2017, Monaco said.
If all three go ahead, Enbridge expects to invest some C$4.5
billion ($3.5 billion) through 2022 for its 50 percent share.
Électricité de France S.A. owns the other 50 percent.
Enbridge delivered about 2.5 million barrels per day of
crude through its Canadian mainline system during the quarter,
up from 2.2 million a year earlier.
For the first quarter, net earnings attributable to
shareholders were C$1.21 billion, or C$1.38 per share, compared
with a loss of C$383 million, or 46 Canadian cents, a year
earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned 76 Canadian cents per
share, beating analysts' estimate of 64 Canadian cents,
according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
($1 = C$1.28)