Looking for avenues in which it can further build its North American natural gas business, Cinergy Canada Inc., an affiliate of Cinergy Corp., said Tuesday that it has acquired the natural gas marketing business and substantially all of the assets of Producers Marketing Ltd. (ProMark) from Canadian Forest Oil Ltd., a subsidiary of Denver-based Forest Oil Corp. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Based in Calgary, ProMark provides natural gas marketing and management services to Canadian Forest, other producers and industrial customers in Canada. Cinergy Canada said the employees of ProMark have joined Cinergy Canada and will continue to be located in Calgary. Cinergy Marketing & Trading, LP, an affiliate of Cinergy Canada, currently manages 4.5 Bcf/d of physical natural gas in the U.S.

“The acquisition of the ProMark assets provides a platform on which Cinergy can continue to develop and grow its North American gas business, especially with the strategic role of Canadian natural gas in the marketplace across the continent,” said Michael J. Cyrus, Cinergy executive vice president and CEO of the commercial business unit. “ProMark has an established reputation, a broad customer base, knowledgeable employees and an effective gas management system, which will allow us to continue to grow this business.”

Under the terms of the deal, Cinergy Canada will also purchase Canadian Forest’s gas production for a primary term of five years and administer the Canadian Forest netback pool for the remainder of the pool’s term.

Bruce Sukaly, Cinergy’s chief commercial officer, said the company’s entrance into the Canadian marketplace is indicative of its overall goal to expand across the continent. He said Cinergy still is mainly an east-of-the-Mississippi market player, but does have a western trading desk that it plans to expand over time.

“We believe that the market needs an ability to move commodity from the wellhead to the citygates, and that’s what we are trying to do,” said Sukaly. “We think that from a risk standpoint we want to be balanced across the whole country with supply and market in every region.

“We’re not reinventing the old model. We’re a transportation and energy logistics business,” he said. “Our reason for being is to move gas from point ‘A’ to ‘B,’ not to trade the Nymex. We believe in quality service and the ability to move molecules from every basin to markets; that’s ultimately the goal.”

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