Canada’s Direct Energy on Friday agreed to pay Encana C$58 million in cash to acquire a package of natural gas-weighted producing assets in the Carrot Creek region of west-central Alberta.

Direct Energy, North America’s largest competitive energy and energy-related services company, would gain an additional 6.2 MMcfe/d of output with an incremental 25.6 Bcfe of proven plus probable reserves that are split 42% gas and 58% liquids. Also included is a 40 MMcf/d capacity gas plant with related infrastructure. In exchange, Encana would receive gas assets and related infrastructure operated by Direct Energy in southeastern Alberta.

“The development potential of the Carrot Creek assets represents a promising addition to our North American upstream gas business as we seek further opportunities to increase production and reserves,” said Direct Energy CEO Chris Weston.

Carrot Creek is about 160 kilometers west of Edmonton and immediately northwest of the Cardium oil development in which Direct Energy is already involved. The acquisition would give the services company increased access to the multi-zone, liquids-rich Deep Basin gas and Cardium oil fairway.

Direct Energy noted that it has acquired about C$1 billion of assets in the last 19 months and added nearly 500,000 residential and commercial customers. In 2010 it also became the largest home energy services company in North America with the acquisition of Clockwork Home Services Inc.

Active in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin since 2000, Direct Energy increased its gas reserves by about 60% with the 2010 acquisition of Suncor Energy’s assets in the Wildcat Hills region of Alberta (see Daily GPI, Aug. 13, 2010). It also bought related interests from Shell Canada Energy in 2011. In total Direct Energy owns more than 4,600 producing wells in the region with current daily production of 163 MMcfe/d.

Once the Encana transaction is completed, which is expected in January, Direct Energy said it would be able to meet about 30% of the daily gas requirements for its customer base across North America.

©Copyright 2011Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.