After totaling more than $420 million in natural gas asset acquisitions last week, Houston-based Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP. had a little change in luck Monday as the company announced that its senior vice president and CFO Richard W. FitzGerald suffered a serious accident while on vacation.

The company noted that while the extent of his injuries are unknown at this time, FitzGerald is likely to be away from Eagle Rock for a period of time. In order to “safeguard the integrity and day-to-day functioning” of Eagle Rock’s financial and accounting processes, the board of directors of Eagle Rock Energy G&P, LLC (the general partner of the Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP) has named Alfredo Garcia as acting CFO. Garcia will retain his position as senior vice president of corporate development.

“Our prayers for a speedy recovery go out to Rick and his family during this difficult time and we are hopeful that he will shortly return to his normal activities at Eagle Rock,” said Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP CEO Joseph A. Mills. “It is incumbent on us, however, to make sure that Eagle Rock continue to perform and meet its obligations with all its constituents, particularly its unitholders, and have therefore determined to name an acting chief financial officer while Rick regains his health. We are comforted by the fact that during the last 12 months, Eagle Rock has built a solid financial platform and accounting staff to support these activities, and with Alfredo’s intimate knowledge of the business and previous experience as Eagle Rock’s chief financial officer, we are highly confident that this will happen.”

As a growth-oriented energy partnership, Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP last week strung together a series of privately negotiated transactions that are expected to strengthen its midstream and upstream businesses in Alabama and Texas (see Daily GPI, July 13). In one privately negotiated transaction, the partnership is buying Alabama-based Escambia Asset Co. LLC (EAC) and some of its subsidiaries for an aggregate price of $220 million, including $203.5 million in cash and about 690,000 Eagle Rock common units. EAC operates 33 wells in Escambia County, AL, which have net production of 3,300 boe/d and proved reserves of 12.2 MMboe; 89% are proved developed producing. Included are two treating facilities with 100 MMcf/d of capacity, one natural gas processing plant with 40 MMcf/d of capacity and related gathering systems.

In another private transaction estimated to be worth a total of $180 million, Eagle Rock will buy Redman Energy Holdings LP and Redman Energy Holdings II LP, which are portfolio companies of Natural Gas Partners LP. Eagle Rock also will acquire some of the assets owned by Natural Gas Partners’ NGP Income Co-Investment Opportunities Fund II LP. Eagle Rock will pay about $74.1 million in cash and issue about 4.4 million new common units for the assets. The Redman assets include 76 operated and 95 nonoperated wells in East and South Texas. Combined net production is 1,810 boe/d, and combined proved reserves are 8.3 MMboe; 78% are proved developed producing.

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