Chevron Corp. has shelved plans to sell its natural gas storage operations in British Columbia because the offered bids didn’t match the asset’s worth, the oil major said.

Chevron said it received several offers for its Aitken Creek storage facility after it was put up for sale late last year (see Daily GPI, Nov. 27, 2007). The facility is estimated to be worth around C$1 billion. It holds gas for pipeline delivery to southern British Columbia and to the Lower 48 states.

“We had multiple bids and significant interest, but none that met our expectations,” said spokesman Leif Sollid. “We’re not looking to sell it at this time. It is still a valuable asset to us.”

The Aitken Creek facility has capacity to hold 71 Bcf and it is expandable. It now is the largest gas storage facility in the province, connected to Spectra Energy’s pipeline system.

Spectra on Friday launched an open season to solicit interest in expanding its raw gas transmission capacity in the Fort Nelson area of British Columbia to accommodate growing production in the Grizzly Valley area of the province (see related story). The region also is home to the emerging gas-rich Horn River Basin.

The BC Utilities Commission in December said the sale had no opposition, according to filings. The commission last year granted Aitken Creek exemption from regulation on the price it charged producers to store gas coming out of the province’s gas patch. It ruled that Aitken Creek was a public utility but it lacked market power to “unduly” influence gas pricing in the province.

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