buyer

With the sale of Terasen Inc., Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) is exiting the retail utility business and buyer Fortis Inc. is bolting gas distribution onto its existing electric business, nearly doubling its customer base to 1.9 million.

Maverick Oil and Gas Inc., a junior independent based in Dallas, is selling its interests in some Barnett Shale properties in Wise County, TX, to an undisclosed buyer for $22.5 million. About $20 million of the proceeds will be used to repay outstanding debt. Maverick now will look for assets with near-term cash flow to support the company’s operations and to complement its long-term resource play in the Fayetteville Shale of Woodruff County, AR, according to CEO James A. Watt. Maverick has about 125,000 acres in the Fayetteville Shale.

EnCana Corp. is looking for a buyer for its natural gas assets in northern Canada, including properties in the Mackenzie Delta/Beaufort Sea region. The Calgary-based producer hopes to complete the sale by the end of the year.

EnCana Corp. said Wednesday it’s looking for a buyer for its natural gas assets in northern Canada, which include properties in the Mackenzie Delta/Beaufort Sea region. The Calgary-based producer hopes to complete the sale by the end of the year.

As a major power generator/buyer sensitive to wholesale natural gas prices, Southern California Edison Co. said in prepared statements earlier in month that its recent settlement with Sempra Energy’s two California utilities will mean substantial changes in the way Sempra’s utility natural gas transmission and storage system operates for large customers such as the Edison International electric utility. The changes are still contingent upon the California Public Utilities Commission approving the settlement (see Daily GPI, June 15).

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in Atlantic Canada will pay off on both the supplier and buyer sides of the East Coast market, says a study of the industry’s emerging new dimension. Increased gas flows are forecast to reduce pipeline tolls and improve the economics of East Coast production developments as well as stabilize the supply outlook for the U.S. Atlantic seaboard.

In the next 30-45 days large consumers may have the opportunity “to lock in some really low gas prices,” according to Chesapeake Energy Chairman Aubrey K. McClendon, adding that his company is “virtually 100% hedged” during that time period.

Duke Energy announced a compensation package for its new CEO, Paul M. Anderson, and said it lined up a buyer, Norsk Hydro Energy B.V., for its Dutch gas marketing business. The sale, which is expected to net Duke about $80 million, is subject to approval by the European Commission.

A voice on the buyer side of the natural gas market joined a supplier chorus in making a Canadian counterpart to the appeals of American producers for improved access to resource development targets in the United States.