TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. has put its Gulf Coast midstreamfacilities and its U.S. petroleum and products marketing andtrading businesses on the block, continuing to slim down to itscore transmission holdings.

“The sale of these assets will reduce our exposure to commodityprices and focus our earnings on fee-based revenues,” said GeorgeWatson, TransCanada president and CEO. “We are focusing ourportfolio on those areas of greatest competitive advantage….ourpipeline, midstream and power generation infrastructure acrossCanada and the northern tier of the United States.” Watsonacknowledged the liquids plants up for sale “have suffered from therecent market conditions which are the worst experienced in thelast decade.”

TransCanada had previously put its ANGUS Chemical Co. up forsale. ANGUS was part of the acquisition of Alberta Natural Gas, andthe liquids plants and marketing businesses based in Houston, LosAngeles, and Charlotte, NC, came with a Northridge Petroleumpurchase in 1994. Also, it was noted, when TransCanada purchasedNova Corp., last year it spun off Nova’s chemicals business.

The company has ownership interest in six midstream facilitiesin Louisiana, Eunice, Bluewater, Sabine Pass, Rayne, Riverside andCow Island, and operates five of those. The plants have thecapability to produce more than 90,000 b/d of liquids, processingup to 2.2 Bcf/d of natural gas. Products include ethane,iso-butane, natural butane, propane and natural gasoline.

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