Asset

The Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse said it has sold more than $31 million in properties at its Hybrid auction held April 13 in Houston, TX. The Clearinghouse offered 128 lots at this Selective Offering(TM), including what it called “many higher-valued, notable properties.” Approximately 275 registered bidders competed on the properties, approximately 34% of which bid on the Internet and accounted for 67% of the gross sale proceeds. The Clearinghouse’s Hybrid Auction process allows Internet bidders the opportunity to compete simultaneously and on a real time basis against floor bidders. Some of the more notable properties sold include: EOG Resources — A total of 9 lots in Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma for a total of $5,285,000. MKD Farms — multiple well lot in Graham County, KS for $630,000. Peoples Energy — multiple well lot in Calcasieu Parish, LA for $1,100,000. Page Energy Partners — Stella Field in Plaquemines Parish, LA for $900,000. Thomas Operating — Sumatra Field in Rosebud County, MT for $1,050,000. Peak Energy — Powder River Basin Field in Campbell County, WY for $1,575,000. Kyle & Gayle Mansker — Causey Field in Bee County, TX for $1,600,000. ChevronTexaco — several lots in Texas for a total of $6,600,000. The Clearinghouse’s next Hybrid auction will be held on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 at the Sheraton North Houston Hotel. Information pertaining to upcoming auctions can be accessed on the Clearinghouse website www.ogclearinghouse.com .

In the everchanging and evolving energy industry, more local distribution companies, including Atlanta Gas Light, are “realigning” their asset portfolios in order to keep up, said Kevin Madden, executive vice president of distribution and pipeline operations for AGL Resources, Atlanta Gas Light’s parent company.

In the everchanging and evolving energy industry, more local distribution companies, including Atlanta Gas Light, are “realigning” their asset portfolios in order to keep up, said Kevin Madden, executive vice president of distribution and pipeline operations for AGL Resources, Atlanta Gas Light’s parent company.

Forest Oil Corp. announced last Monday it has agreed to acquire a private company whose primary asset is an operated average working interest of 83% in the Buffalo Wallow Field and approximately 33,300 gross acres primarily in Hemphill and Wheeler Counties, TX, including estimated proved reserves of 120 Bcfe with estimated production of 25-30 MMcfe/d.

El Paso Corp. on Tuesday cited negative reserve revisions, poor drilling results in the first six months of 2004 and asset sales for a 12% drop in total oil and natural gas reserves in 2004, compared with 2003. However, with a new deep shelf discovery in the Gulf of Mexico and stronger drilling results, CEO Doug Foshee said the company was “already a long way” toward replacing expected 2005 production.

El Paso Corp. on Tuesday cited negative reserve revisions, poor drilling results in the first six months of 2004 and asset sales for a 12% drop in total oil and natural gas reserves in 2004, compared with 2003. However, with a new deep shelf discovery in the Gulf of Mexico and stronger drilling results, CEO Doug Foshee said the company was “already a long way” toward replacing expected 2005 production.

Cheniere Energy Inc. said Tuesday it has acquired BPU LNG Inc. in exchange for 1,000,000 restricted shares of Cheniere common stock. BPU LNG’s sole asset is a 33.3% limited partner interest in Corpus Christi LNG LP. As a result of the acquisition, Cheniere said it now controls 100% of the Corpus LNG limited partner interests. In December of 2003, Corpus Christi LNG filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a permit to build and operate a liquefied natural gas receiving terminal near the city of Corpus Christi, TX with daily processing capacity of 2.6 Bcf. In November of 2004, FERC issued a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) concluding that approval of the proposed project, with appropriate mitigating measures as recommended, would have limited adverse environmental impact. Cheniere said it anticipates that FERC will issue a final EIS and grant its permit in the near future. In addition to the Corpus Christi facility, the Houston-based company is developing Gulf Coast LNG receiving terminals near Sabine Pass in Cameron Parish, LA and near the Creole Trail in Cameron Parish, LA. Cheniere is also a 30% limited partner in Freeport LNG Development LP., which is building an LNG receiving terminal in Freeport, TX.

The Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse sold more than $39 million in properties at the hybrid auction held Nov. 10 in Houston, offering 282 lots for sale. About 330 registered bidders competed for properties, with 32% bidding via the Internet.

Houston Exploration Co. plans to revise its second and third quarter cash flow statements by $60 million because it misclassified a component of its asset exchange with KeySpan Corp. in June. KeySpan announced last year it would sell its ownership stake in the producer, and last May the companies completed a $449 million share transfer exchange that reduced KeySpan’s ownership from 55% to 24% (see Daily GPI, May 26, Nov. 22).