Acquire

BP Amoco might want to change its name to BP, Etc. now that ithas announced plans to acquire Los Angeles-based Atlantic RichfieldCo. (Arco) in a $26.8 billion deal. The news comes only monthsafter the closing late last year of the marriage of BP and Amoco.

If acquisition talks between BP Amoco and Atlantic Richfield Co.(Arco) do lead to a deal, BP Amoco also would acquire the 82% ofVastar Resources held by Arco. What could or would happen afterthat is anybody’s guess, said John S. Herold analyst John Parry.

Edison International’s wholly-owned independent power subsidiarywill acquire all the fossil-fuel generating assets of CommonwealthEdison. The company will pay about $5 billion for a package of coaland gas-fired plants with total capacity of 9,772 megawatts (MW).Edison Mission Energy has also committed to build 500 MW ofgas-fired generating capacity in Chicago.

ONEOK Inc. is building up its midstream presence by agreeing toacquire all the Oklahoma midstream gas gathering and processingassets of Koch Midstream Enterprises for $285 million in cash.

Midland, TX-based Costilla Energy Inc. and ONEOK Inc. formed astrategic alliance to capitalize on properties Costilla plans toacquire from Pioneer Natural Resources Co. as well as otherpotential transactions. Tulsa, OK-based ONEOK will participate inCostilla’s previously announced $335 million acquisition of oil andgas properties from Pioneer (assuming it is successful) through anequity investment in Costilla preferred stock.

Cabot Oil &Gas Corp. plans to acquire the onshore South Louisiana properties of Oryx Energy Co. for about $72 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Houston-based Cabot will purchase 10 fields (six operated, four non-operated) covering 34,345 net acres with 68 producing wells. The acquired producing assets are concentrated in three primary fields that each provide Cabot with a high working interest. These fields make up 80% of the value assigned to the transaction.

KeySpan Energy Development has agreed to acquire a 50% interestin Gulf Canada Resources’ massive midstream gas business in westernCanada for US$189 million and form a new partnership governing GulfMidstream Services (GMS). The partnership will hold interests in 14gas processing plants that handle 1.4 Bcf/d, of which thepartnership’s share is about 750 MMcf/d. It also will hold all ofGulf’s western Canadian pipelines, storage, products facilities andgas and liquids marketing.

Enron Capital & Trade Resources (ECT) agreed to acquireCogen Technologies’ interests in three power plants for $1.1billion and the assumption of about $350 million in non-recoursedebt. ECT will make the acquisition through a special purposeentity in which ECT will own a 50 percent interest. The entity willinvest up to $130 million in equity, with the balance of thepurchase price funded by non-recourse borrowings provided byfinancial institutions. The transaction is expected to close inearly 1999.

The Australian-owned oil and gas company, Chancellor Group, saysit has signed a letter of intent to acquire from Union PacificResources a half-interest in the Deadwood Field in East Texas for$35 million. The announcement comes on the heels of one made alittle more than a week ago by UPR that it had agreed to sell itsinterests in certain South Texas oil and gas properties to Collins&amp Ware Inc. for $148 million.