Shell Canada Ltd. completed its acquisition of Canadian-based Duvernay Oil Corp., which gives the Royal Dutch Shell plc subsidiary half a million net acres in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). Shell announced the C$5.9 billion cash transaction in July (see Daily GPI, July 15). Shell gained around 1,800 square kilometers (450,000 acres) in the WCSB from the deal, including acreage in the emerging Montney tight gas trend in northeastern British Columbia BC). Two large gas projects are located in BC-based Sunset-Groundbirch, and in a deeper, western portion of the WCSB. The transaction also gives Shell some natural gas processing and delivery infrastructure in the WCSB. Prior to the purchase, Shell’s North American assets were producing about 80,000 boe/d of tight gas in the Pinedale Anticline of Wyoming, in South Texas and the WCSB. Shell also has acreage in the Haynesville Shale of Louisiana.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved a settlement agreement for UGI Utilities Inc.‘s purchase of PPL Gas Utilities Corp., the natural gas distribution subsidiary of PPL Corp. The commission voted 5-0 to approve the acquisition, finding that the partial settlement reached in the case was in the public interest by affirmatively promoting the service, accommodation, convenience or safety of the public in some substantial way. PPL first said it would sell PPL Gas Utilities last year (see Daily GPI, July 31, 2007) and the deal with UGI was announced in March (see Daily GPI, March 7). UGI agreed to pay about $268 million in cash plus working capital under a stock purchase agreement. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year. PPL Gas Utilities serves about 76,000 customers in 35 counties throughout Pennsylvania and a small area of Maryland. It operates about 3,800 miles of pipeline and owns underground gas storage capacity in three separate reservoirs in north-central Pennsylvania. UGI serves 307,000 natural gas customers in 14 Pennsylvania counties including Harrisburg, Lancaster, Reading, the Lehigh Valley and their surrounding suburbs.

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