Enbridge names Greg Ebel as next CEO, to succeed Al Monaco

Enbridge, the Canadian pipeline giant that's locked in a legal battle with Michigan over the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, named Greg Ebel as its next chief executive officer.

Ebel will take over from Jan. 1 from Al Monaco, who will retire, the company said Monday in a statement. Ebel will step down from his current position as chair of the board of directors and Enbridge will choose a replacement.

Ebel is the former CEO of U.S. pipeline company Spectra Energy Partners LP, which was acquired by Enbridge in 2018 for $7.2 billion.

In late 2018, former Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, entered an agreement with Enbridge to construct a tunnel beneath the Straits to house a new segment of Line 5. Construction on the more than $500 million project, according to bid documents, likely won't begin until 2024 and will take four years to complete.

Detroit News Staff Writer Beth LeBlanc contributed.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Nessel, both Democrats who both ran on promises in 2018 to shut the line down, attempted to challenge the agreement between the state and Enbridge when they took office in 2019 and later filed suit in state court to shut the pipeline down. 

Whitmer dismissed her suit after Enbridge succeeded in removing it to federal court in November, while Nessel is appealing a federal judge's ruling on the issue.