Affiliate

CMS Marketing, Services and Trading (CMS-MST) expanded itsCanadian presence yesterday as PremStar Energy, Canada, a CMS-MSTaffiliate, acquired ECNG Inc., an independent energy consultingfirm, from El Paso Energy Marketing Canada Inc. Terms were notdisclosed. PremStar worked together with a group of formerexecutives from ECNG to acquire the firm.

Columbia Propane named Donald F. Schalk president and CEO ofColumbia Petroleum Corp. He reports to A. Mason Brent, ColumbiaPropane president and CEO. Columbia Petroleum is a wholly ownedsubsidiary of Columbia Propane, an affiliate of Columbia EnergyGroup. Richland, PA-based Columbia Petroleum acquired the assets ofCarlos R. Leffler, Inc. and certain affiliates on May 11 andcurrently serves 36,000 customers in Pennsylvania, Delaware, NewJersey, Maryland, and Virginia. Schalk’s most recent position waspresident, retail services for Agway, Inc. in Syracuse, NY.

Anadarko Energy Services Co., the wholesale marketing affiliateof Anadarko Petroleum, is gaining entrance into the retail marketthrough an agreement with independent marketer Mountain Energy.

Peoples Energy Production Co., the affiliate of Peoples Gas,extended a year-long buying binge Thursday, by obtaining 70% ofEnsign Operating Co.’s Arkoma basin assets for $15 million. Theproduction arm of Peoples Energy has now spent $65 million inpartnerships and acquisitions since the fall of 1998.

Columbia Gas Transmission sold its Project Penny gatheringpipeline and compressor facilities in Pennsylvania and New York toNorse Pipeline for $21.5 million. Norse is an affiliate of SchansonEnergy LLC, the energy investment arm of Schanson CapitalManagement of Los Angeles, and Nornew Inc., an integrated oil andgas exploration company focused mainly on the Appalachian Basin andthe Maritime provinces in Atlantic Canada. Norse Pipeline’sdomestic operations are based in Houston and Jamestown, NY. ProjectPenny consists of seven compressor station locations and about 341miles of gas pipeline in northwestern Pennsylvania and southwesternNew York. Constructed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, theProject Penny facilities have no direct connection to ColumbiaTransmission’s other pipeline facilities and are not necessary forthe company to provide its core services of interstate gastransportation and storage. The purchase of Project Penny makesNorse Pipeline the largest gas gatherer in the northern AppalachianBasin, with access to about 6,500 gas wells in New York andPennsylvania and the capacity to gather more than 100,000 Mcf/d.

Columbia Gas Transmission sold its Project Penny gatheringpipeline and compressor facilities in Pennsylvania and New York toNorse Pipeline for $21.5 million. Norse is an affiliate of SchansonEnergy LLC, the energy investment arm of Schanson CapitalManagement of Los Angeles, and Nornew Inc., an integrated oil andgas exploration company focused mainly on the Appalachian Basin andthe Maritime provinces in Atlantic Canada. Norse Pipeline’sdomestic operations are based in Houston and Jamestown, NY.

Cumberland County awarded South Jersey Energy, the marketingaffiliate of South Jersey Industries, a one-year gas supplycontract yesterday. A company spokesman said the contract was worth$500,000. South Jersey will supply gas to all municipal facilitiesand aims to save the county government 20% off its regular gasbill. The announcement marks South Jersey’s third contract with NewJersey county governments in the past 12 months. It also has supplydeals with Atlantic and Camden Counties.

Avista Corp.’s Internet specialty billing and informationservices affiliate, Avista Advantage, and Texas-based ReliantEnergy have made a product distribution agreement.

Dynegy Inc. project affiliate Rockingham Power L.L.C. signed along-term gas interconnection agreement with Williams’ Transcopipeline. Williams’ interconnection will provide capacity for up to222 MMcf/d to fuel Dynegy’s proposed 800-megawatt (MW) generationfacility in Rockingham County, NC. Construction on theinterconnection is scheduled to be completed in December. “Naturalgas power generation is increasing and we look forward toadditional opportunities to expand our pipeline system to meet thisgrowing demand,” said Frank Ferazzi, vice president of customerservice and rates, Williams Gas Pipeline-Transco.