Pioneer Natural Resources Co. of Dallas closed a $62.3 millionsale of South Texas gas properties to CNG Producing Co. Proceedswill retire bank debt. Pioneer also agreed to sell a West Texasproperty for $35 million to EnerQuest Oil & Gas of Midland, TX.The property is the last waterflood field operated by Pioneer.Selling the higher-cost field cuts Pioneer’s operating costs. Thetransaction is scheduled to close by the end of the third quarterwith a Jan. 1, 1999 effective date. Pioneer announced the propertysales in June. Pioneer property divestitures in Canada areprogressing as expected, and the company expects to close the lastof several Canadian deals this month. Pioneer has major operationsin the United States, Canada and Argentina.

TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. has agreed to sell subsidiary ANGUSChemical Co. to Dow Chemical for an undisclosed sum. “AlthoughANGUS Chemical is an excellent asset, it does not fit with ourstrategic direction,” said TransCanada CEO Doug Baldwin.Headquartered in Buffalo Grove, IL, ANGUS specializes inmanufacturing and marketing nitroparaffins and their derivatives.The sale is part of a reorganization that is expected to alsoinclude the sale of TransCanada’s Gulf Coast midstream facilitiesand its U.S. petroleum and products marketing and tradingbusinesses.

Northern States Power Co. issued a request for proposals (RFP)for up to 1,200 MW of power generation capacity and associatedenergy for a period of 10 years, beginning sometime between May 1,2003, and May 1, 2005. NSP will use the additional resources tomeet increased retail customer demand. NSP is seeking peaking,intermediate and base-load resources. The RFP is open to allsources of power, including renewable resources. NSP will selectwinning proposals based on cost, environmental impact and deliveryguarantees. Before awarding the contract(s), NSP will submit theevaluation of the proposals to the Minnesota Public UtilitiesCommission (MPUC) for review. For a copy of the RFP or moreinformation, contact David L. Zuck at (612) 330-6452. He also maybe reached via fax at (612) 330-5868.

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