Australia

Australia-based investment group Babcock and Brown Ltd. (BBI) are leading a consortium to buy the majority stake in MidCon, which owns the Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL), in a $7.6 billion transaction.

Bellevue, WA-based Puget Energy, holding company of Puget Sound Energy (PSE), has agreed to be acquired by a private investment consortium led by the North American unit of Australia-based Macquarie Bank Ltd. in a deal valued at $7.4 billion, the company said Friday. Subject to FERC and Washington state regulatory approvals, the merger is targeted to close by mid-year 2008.

Bellevue, WA-based Puget Energy, holding company of Puget Sound Energy (PSE), has agreed to be acquired by a private investment consortium led by the North American unit of Australia-based Macquarie Bank Ltd. in a deal valued at $7.4 billion, the company said Friday. Subject to FERC and Washington state regulatory approvals, the merger is targeted to close by mid-year 2008.

Federal and city authorities last Tuesday officially launched the full environmental impact review (EIR) of Australia-based Woodside Natural Gas’ proposed offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) docking facility and undersea pipeline 28 miles from an onshore connection point near Los Angeles International Airport. The U.S. Coast Guard and City of Los Angeles jointly deemed as “complete” the application for OceanWay, triggering the EIR.

Federal and city authorities Tuesday officially launched the full environmental impact review (EIR) of Australia-based Woodside Natural Gas’ proposed offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) docking facility and undersea pipeline 28 miles from an onshore connection point near Los Angeles International Airport. The U.S. Coast Guard and City of Los Angeles jointly deemed as “complete” the application for OceanWay, triggering the EIR.

Montana regulators had little choice but to reject a 15-month-old effort by Australia’s Babcock & Brown Infrastructure (BBI) to buy South Dakota-based NorthWestern Energy, and the state’s largest private-sector utility now is poised to do just fine on its own, the state’s chief regulator told NGI last week.

Australia’s resources giant BHP Billiton will close its Southern California office in Oxnard, CA, at the end of July, consolidating West Coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations in its Houston office, a spokesperson in California told NGI last week. A Houston-based spokesperson separately confirmed that the Cabrillo Port offshore LNG terminal project is effectively dead, and the company continues to weigh its options in California.

Australia’s resources giant BHP Billiton will close its Southern California office in Oxnard, CA, at the end of July, consolidating West Coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations in its Houston office, a California spokesperson for the company told NGI Wednesday. A Houston-based spokesperson separately confirmed that the Cabrillo Port offshore LNG receiving terminal project is effectively dead, and the company continues to weigh its options in California.

While saying liquefied natural gas (LNG) still has a role to play in California’s future energy portfolio, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday rejected Australia-based BHP Billiton’s proposed offshore LNG receiving terminal project, Cabrillo Port, on the basis that it failed to meet environmental standards.