Assets

Castle Energy Corp. has agreed to sell all of its domestic oil and gas properties to Delta Petroleum for $20 million in cash plus 9.6 million shares of Delta common stock, which would result in the company owning 43% of Delta. The properties consist of oil and gas interests in 525 oil and gas wells in 14 states, including associated undeveloped acreage, with total proved reserves of 65 Bcfe of gas, of which 32 Bcfe are proved developed producing reserves. The effective date of the sale was Oct. 1, 2001 and closing is expected by April 30.

Castle Energy Corp. has agreed to sell all of its domestic oil and gas properties to Delta Petroleum for $20 million in cash plus 9.6 million shares of Delta common stock, which would result in the company owning 43% of Delta. The properties consist of oil and gas interests in 525 oil and gas wells in 14 states, including associated undeveloped acreage, with total proved reserves of 65 Bcfe of gas, of which 32 Bcfe are proved developed producing reserves. The effective date of the sale was Oct. 1, 2001 and closing is expected by April 30.

Stone Energy Corp. has announced that the acquisition of interests in eight producing oil and gas properties and related assets located in the Gulf of Mexico was completed on Dec. 31, 2001. The final aggregate purchase price, as previously announced, was $299.7 million and was financed with net proceeds from Stone’s recently completed offering of $200 million of 8.25% senior subordinated notes due 2011, and borrowings under its bank credit facility.

Dallas-based Addison Energy Inc., a subsidiary of EXCO Resources Inc., has entered into an agreement to purchase Canadian oil and natural gas assets from an independent producer for $33.8 million cash (C$53.6 million). Doug Miller, EXCO’s CEO, said the closing date is currently anticipated to be mid to late December. The properties are principally located in one of Addison’s core production areas of Alberta. No seller was named. EXCO estimates total proved reserves of approximately 3.0 million bbl and natural gas liquids, and 21.4 Bcf. Net daily production in September was approximately 675 bbl and NGLs, and 4,305 Mcf. EXCO expects to fund the acquisition with cash and funds to be borrowed under Addison’s Canadian bank credit facility. EXCO is an oil and gas acquisition, exploitation, development and production company with principal operations in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alberta.

Magnum Hunter Resources Inc. on Monday closed its $31.3 million deal announced a month ago to buy the Delaware Basin oil and gas reserves and related assets of Denver-based Mallon Resources Corp. (see Daily GPI, Aug 14). The properties had proved reserves of 41.8 Bcfe on Dec. 31, 2000, and include Mallon’s interest in 23 fields with 141 producing wells and 13,741 net acres.

Although it wants more than book value for its transmission assets if the state buys them, Southern California Edison Co. said it tentatively supports the latest California legislative proposal to restore the utility’s financial standing. Speaking at a state Assembly hearing, an Edison senior executive said that with some modification the proposal could restore the utility’s creditworthiness.

The USX Corp. board of directors has approved a reorganization plan calling for a tax-free spin-off of the steel-related assets into a separate publicly traded company, United States Steel Corp., while the energy business operates as Marathon Oil Corp. Plans for the split came nearly 20 years after USX acquired the Houston-based oil and gas E&P company in 1982.

Houston-based Enron Corp., which may be shoring up a long-range plan to sell some of its assets not related to its massive trading arm, may consider selling off its growing wind power subsidiary as soon as this year, according to Enron Wind’s managing director, Andreas Reuter.

The NewPower Co., a subsidiary of NewPower Holdings Inc., signed a definitive agreement to acquire the customers and related assets of AES Power Direct, a retail marketing subsidiary of AES Corp. The company has also signed a definitive agreement to purchase the customers and natural gas inventory related to the Columbia Gas of Ohio and Dominion East Ohio gas customer choice programs of CoEnergy Trading Co. CoEnergy is a subsidiary of DTE Energy Co. Together, the deals significantly expand NewPower’s presence in Ohio, where the company will add over 82,000 natural gas and electric customers, and in Pennsylvania, where NewPower will add approximately 38,000 natural gas customers. The deal also marks NewPower’s entrance into the service territories of four additional utilities: Dominion Peoples, Dominion East Ohio, Toledo Edison and Ohio Edison. NewPower is also entering the gas market for Cincinnati Gas & Electric. As part of the AES Power Direct transaction, NewPower will acquire related natural gas inventory, supply and transportation contracts and infrastructure, including billing and customer service, in Peoria, IL, and Toronto, ON. NewPower will acquire from AES Power Direct and CoEnergy a total of approximately 112,000 natural gas customers in the service territories of Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, Columbia Gas of Ohio, Dominion Peoples, Cincinnati Gas & Electric, Dominion East Ohio, and Washington Gas Light customers in Virginia and Maryland. In addition, NewPower will add approximately 7,000 AES Power Direct electric customers in the Toledo Edison and Ohio Edison markets.