Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P (EEP) held its fourth quarter of 2009 earnings conference call on February 1, 2010. The company was asked about a strengthening natural gas rig count in North America, and where the company thought it saw the weakest growth:
“And the area that we’re probably going to see the flattest is Barnett Shale. When you see the Barnett Shale, the leases have generally been held by production. There’s plenty of pipe capacity. Producers don’t want to drill in downtown Fort Worth with all the hassles. But I think with the producers, you go test out your new areas, you can always go home to the Barnett. The Barnett will have continued drilling, but I think of our three areas, that’s probably the flattest of the three.”