Dominion Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Dominion Resources, andRiver Gas Corp., a privately held company based in Northport, Al,said Friday they have jointly acquired lease rights to develop19,000 acres of coalbed methane territory in Alabama’s BlackWarrior Basin. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Thearea produces about 315 MMcf/d of coalbed methane. The jointventure acquired the assets from Pittsburgh and Midway Coal MiningCo. Dominion and River Gas expect to drill approximately 200 wellson the newly acquired acreage over the next three years. Together,the two companies currently own and operate more than 530 coalbedmethane wells in the region which produce 50 MMcf/d. River Gasbegan operation of these properties in 1987 and was one of theearliest operators in the Black Warrior Basin. The Black WarriorBasin is a 35,000-square-mile area in northwest Alabama.

Chevron said it completed the sale of the company’s remainingcoastal California production assets to Arguello Inc., a whollyowned subsidiary of Plains Resources Inc. Financial details of thesale were not disclosed. Chevron said its California assetsrepresented less than 1% of the company’s overall production.George Steinbach, manager of Chevron’s coastal Californiaproduction, said the exit from this area will allow the majorenergy company to shift its resources to international growthprospects and will result in significant cost savings. The saleincluded Chevron’s 26% share of production assets associated withthe Point Arguello Field, consisting of Platforms Hidalgo, Hermosa,and Harvest, located in federal waters at the northwest end of theSanta Barbara Channel; an oil processing plant located in Gaviota;and interconnecting pipelines. These assets were owned by ChevronU.S.A. Production Co. and Chevron Pipe Line Co., wholly ownedsubsidiaries of Chevron Corp.

Representatives of Independence Pipeline and the Ohio PowerSiting Board (OPSB) agreed to environmental standards. Theagreement augments procedures already included in the FederalEnergy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Plan and Procedures and theBest Management Practices prepared by Independence. One of the 31conditions included in the joint agreement with the OPSB requiresthat Independence adhere to all provisions in a separate, extensiveconstruction and agricultural mitigation agreement with the OhioFederation of Soil and Water Conservation districts. That accordcalls for Independence to implement a series of constructionmeasures and precautions on privately owned agricultural landduring pipeline construction, cleanup and restoration activities.

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