Asset

Miller Petroleum Inc., which does business as Miller Energy Resources, continued its 2009 oil and gas asset grab on Tuesday, announcing that it has entered into an agreement to purchase the south-central Alaska assets of Cook Inlet Energy LLC for $875,000.

Southern Union Co. and hedge fund Sandell Asset Management Corp. last week struck an agreement that tables the sale of local distribution company (LDC) assets by Southern Union as well as the formation of a master limited partnership (MLP). Sandell, through affiliates, owns 8.6% of Southern Union and had been pressuring the company to bolster shareholder returns since late 2006.

FERC put holding companies on notice when it denied a request by Horizon Asset Management for a disclaimer of jurisdiction under the Federal Power Act (FPA) with respect to investments in public utility company (PUC) securities Thursday.

FERC put holding companies on notice when it denied a request by Horizon Asset Management for a disclaimer of jurisdiction under the Federal Power Act (FPA) with respect to investments in public utility company (PUC) securities Thursday.

NorthWestern Corp. said it has reached a settlement that could resolve litigation related to Magten Asset Management’s claims in NorthWestern’s 2003 Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

NorthWestern Corp. said it has reached a settlement that could resolve litigation related to Magten Asset Management’s claims in NorthWestern’s 2003 Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

Borrowing a page from federal officials, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has selected the Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse to host a lease sale auction later this month to market all of its unleased holdings in the Fayetteville Shale and Smackover play in Arkansas. Lease sales are commonly used by state and federal agencies to market drilling rights. This lease sale will be the first of its kind for a publicly held entity, according to the clearinghouse, which will market and advise Anadarko about the sale. Anadarko will offer the right to lease about 250,000 gross (206,000 net) acres throughout the state. About 170,000 net acres are considered to be in the natural gas-rich Fayetteville Shale fairway; another 5,000 acres lie within the Smackover play in southern Arkansas. The assets will be offered under predetermined lease terms, which will be available prior to the auction through the clearinghouse. Royalties retained by Anadarko will be 12.5-15%, with primary lease terms ranging from five to 10 years. The hybrid auction will be held Nov. 14-15 at the Sheraton North Houston Hotel in Houston and via the Internet. The auction will begin with the sale of Anadarko leases followed by other oil and gas properties owned by various sellers including Chevron Corp., EOG Resources Inc., McClymond Ltd., Reed Partners, Rudman Partnership, Samson Resources and Whiting Petroleum. For more information on the properties to be offered, visit www.ogclearinghouse.com.

Borrowing a page from federal officials, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has selected the Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse to host a lease sale auction in November to market all of its unleased holdings in Arkansas.

Houston-based Ultra Petroleum Corp. is exiting the international arena to focus its “full attention” on its legacy asset in the Pinedale Anticline field, CEO Michael D. Watford said. Ultra agreed to sell Sino-American Energy Co., which represents all of its interests in Bohai Bay, China, to SPC E&P (China) Pte Ltd. for $223 million. The reserve volumes sold represent all of Ultra’s international assets and comprise about 1% of its year-end 2006 proved reserves. The sale is expected to close in 4Q2007. Even with the sale of the international assets, Watford said Ultra still expects to deliver more than 20% organic production growth in 2008 and 2009.