The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week announced itwill hold a symposium later this month to address reform of itscomplaint procedures.
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Crystal Oil Closes Petal Storage Deal
Crystal Oil Co. of Shreveport, LA, last week closed on itspreviously announced acquisition of Petal Gas Storage Co. Theacquisition of Petal will complement and provide synergies with thesalt dome storage facility already owned by Hattiesburg Gas StorageCo., a subsidiary of Crystal, and which is located less than onemile from the Petal facility. With the acquisition of Petal,Crystal’s subsidiaries will have more than 6.7 Bcf of gas storageworking capacity with the ability to deliver in excess of 670MMcf/d in this major corridor to the northeastern gas markets. JoeAverett, Crystal president, said the acquisition makes Crystal thelargest independent provider of salt cavern gas storage in the U.S.
New, Efficient Engine Could Burn Natural Gas
Rolls-Royce has announced a new line of engines that may changethe face of distributed generation. Since 1994 the automotivecompany has been conducting research to design a new generator thatwill help propel the company into the major leagues for distributedgeneration around the world.
Enron to Boost Bammel Storage Deliverability
Bammel Natural Gas Storage and its connections to Houston PipeLine are due for a major upgrade, Enron announced yesterday. Thecompany plans to drill four new storage wells and construct a12-mile, 30-inch diameter pipeline adjacent to an existing HPL linethat will increase Bammel’s withdrawal capacity nearly 20% to 1.4Bcf/d. The $28 million project is designed to enhance services forHPL’s Texas Gulf Coast industrial markets and Houston-based gasutilities, Enron said. It is expected to be completed by year end.
Shareholders Approve Chesapeake-Hugoton Merger
Chesapeake Energy completed its acquisition of Hugoton Energyafter receiving shareholder approvals. Proforma for the Hugotontransaction and other announced pending acquisitions, Chesapeake’sproved oil and gas reserves will be about 1,050 Bcfe, of which 80%are natural gas. In addition, about 70% of Chesapeake’s reserveswill be proved developed producing, and 75% will consist oflong-lived Midcontinent reserves. Estimated proforma dailyproduction will exceed 410 MMcfe. Trading of Hugoton stock ceasedMarch 10, and each outstanding common share of Hugoton stock wasconverted into the right to receive 1.3 shares of Chesapeake commonstock. Holders of fractional shares will receive $8.78/Hugotonshare. About 26 million additional shares of Chesapeake will beissued to Hugoton shareholders. Including $120 million of Hugotondebt assumed by Chesapeake, the transaction is worth about $300million.
Grays Ferry Partners Battle Over Purchase Agreement
Trigen Energy announced it is mounting a legal battle to forcePECO Energy to honor terms of a Gray’s Ferry power purchaseagreement. Trigen said the Grays Ferry Cogeneration Partnershipreceived a letter from PECO saying the Pennsylvania utility couldnot pay the full contract price for electricity from the 150 MWcogeneration plant. The plant sells electricity to PECO and steamto Trigen-Philadelphia Energy. It is located in Philadelphia andwent into commercial operation earlier this year. Ironically,Exelon, a wholly owned subsidiary of PECO Energy, is a one-thirdowner in the project with Trigen and NRG Generating.
Halliburton, Dresser Industries in $7.7 Billion Merger
Halliburton Co. and Dresser Industries announced a $7.7 billionmerger agreement yesterday that will create the world’s largestdrilling and energy engineering company with combined 1997 revenuesof $16 billion and combined market capitalization of over $19billion. The firm, which will retain the Halliburton name will have100,000 employees worldwide. It will be based in Dallas, TX.
ComEd Agrees to Cease Program that Favored Affiliates
Chicago’s Citizens Utility Board (CUB) announced it has signed asettlement agreement with Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) thatobligates the utility to terminate its controversial marketingprogram, which was designed to give the utility’s affiliatecompanies an edge in the coming competitive energy market.
Nova, El Paso Finalize Chilean Pipeline Plans
El Paso Energy International announced final agreements havebeen signed by the partners of an international consortium to buildthe 325-mile Gasoducto del Pacifico pipeline from Argentina acrossthe Andes mountains into Chile, roughly 300 miles south ofSantiago. Construction on the $380 million project has alreadybegun and the pipeline is scheduled to be in service by late 1999.The initial delivery capacity of the system is estimated to be 140MMcf/d.