Bought

Contact Exploration bought rights to explore for coalbed methane on 177,000 acres in the Cumberland Basin located in the Springhill area of Nova Scotia. AMVEST Nova Scotia will be a 50% working interest partner with Contact. The acquisition brings Contact’s gross land position in Nova Scotia to 2.2 million acres. The Springhill area has been noted for its coal mining during the 1900s, which was made particularly difficult as a result of significant methane emissions into underground mine workings. AMVEST has drilled and tested two exploration wells and conducted a detailed geologic and reservoir study of the area. An independent report prepared for AMVEST in 1999 estimated a coalbed methane gas resource in excess of 1 Tcf in the Cumberland Basin. A developing gas infrastructure in Nova Scotia is expected to provide the low-pressure facilities and markets needed to initiate commercialization of coalbed methane produced from the Cumberland Basin. Future large-scale gas production volumes may be introduced into a major gas transmission pipeline that traverses the property.

Houston-based E&P operator Mariner Energy Inc. officially is no longer an Enron affiliate. The company completed a $271.1 million merger with an affiliate of the private equity funds Acon Investments LLC and Carlyle/Riverstone Global Energy and Power Fund II. Mariner had been owned by Enron’s Joint Energy Development Investments LP (JEDI).

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) said it bought the remaining interest in Mid-Tex Gas Storage Co. LLP (Midtex), which owns the 5 Bcf Markham storage field in Matagorda County, TX, from NiSource for $17.5 million. The deal increases Kinder Morgan’s stake in the project from 68% to 100%.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) said it bought the remaining interest in Mid-Tex Gas Storage Co. LLP (Midtex), which owns the 5 Bcf Markham storage field in Matagorda County, TX, from NiSource for $17.5 million. The deal increases Kinder Morgan’s stake in the project from 68% to 100%.

AEP, which bought the Houston Pipe Line system, including 4,000 miles of intrastate pipeline in Texas, from Enron in June 2001 for $727 million, at the time also signed a 30-year lease for the 7,000-acre underground Bammel storage reservoir and related pipeline facilities. The pre-paid lease also included a right to renew for an additional 20 years.

Canadian Superior Energy bought two exploration licences for a total of 370,881 acres offshore Nova Scotia from the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board for about C$14.2 million. “With the addition of these two new Exploration Licences, Canadian Superior now holds a dominant position offshore Nova Scotia and is one of the largest acreage holders in the area, with interests in 6 exploration licences, totaling 1,293,946 acres,” said company president Greg S. Noval. He said the new properties “complement our existing portfolio of ‘world-class’ prospects offshore Nova Scotia.”

NiSource is making some of the last remaining organizational changes since it bought Columbia Energy Group two years ago. The company announced actions Thursday to reduce the size of its management structure. Under the plan, the streamlining will move executive management closer to customers and promote efficiency while lowering costs in response.

NiSource is making some of the last remaining organizational changes since it bought Columbia Energy Group two years ago. The company announced actions Thursday to reduce the size of its management structure. Under the plan, the streamlining will move executive management closer to customers and promote efficiency while lowering costs in response.

In the waning hours of its spring session, the Illinois legislature last week agreed to impose a 5% sales tax on natural gas bought out-of-state as part of its budget and tax package aimed at curing the state government deficit. The measure will mainly impact manufacturers, but the legislators modified the governor’s proposal by including several exemptions.