In an effort to boost liquidity at trading points, theindustry’s two major electronic energy trading systems, AltraStreamline and QuickTrade, announced last week they will become onesystem by the end of the year, possibly sooner. Altra is buyingQuickTrade and QuickTrade Canada from subsidiaries of Dynegy,Sempra Energy and Nicor for an undisclosed sum.
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Coast Energy Buys Trading Assets of ERI Canada
Coast Energy Canada Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary ofCornerstone Propane Partners L.P., finalized the purchase of thegas trading assets of ERI (Equitable Resources) Canada Ltd.,effective Dec. 31. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
TransCanada Buys Half of PanAlberta Resources
TransCanada Midstream (TCM), a business unit of TransCanadaPipeLines Ltd., bought Alberta Energy Co.’s (AEC) outstandingshares (49.995%) in PanAlberta Resources Inc. (PARI) for $35million plus about $7 million in assumed debt. PARI owns 50% of theEmpress II straddle plant and holds gas liquids extraction rightswith respect to gas volumes of Pan-Alberta Gas Ltd.
Midcoast Buys Texas Gathering Systems
Midcoast Energy Resources Inc. grew its Texas asset base withthe acquisition of two gathering systems in two separate dealsworth a combined $4.55 million. Midcoast bought the Mendotagathering pipeline and processing plant from Seagull Energy Corp.for $3.75 million in cash. The Mendota facilities are in RobertsCounty, TX, and include about 35 miles of gathering pipeline, a 10MMcf/d cryogenic gas processing plant and compression facilitieswith a combined 2,400 horsepower. The system gathers gas from morethan 70 active wells and has a total throughput of 7,200 Mcf/d. TheMendota pipeline is located adjacent to the Anadarko system, whichMidcoast purchased from El Paso Energy Corp. in September 1998, andMidcoast plans to integrate the operations of the Mendota andAnadarko systems. Also as part of the transaction, Seagull hasdedicated production from all of its existing acreage in the areato Midcoast for the next five years.
Richardson Buys KN Assets in Texas
Sid Richardson Gasoline Co. of Forth Worth, TX, bought theWalton and Santa Rosa gas gathering systems of American GatheringLP and American Processing LP, both wholly owned subsidiaries of KNEnergy. The systems are in the Texas counties of Walker, Ward,Crane, and Pecos. The systems are made up of more than 600 miles ofgathering line and more than 30 MMcf/d of processing and treatingcapacity. The acquisition gives Richardson access to producersupplies from Kermit in Winkler County to Fort Stockton in PecosCounty. The assets will be consolidated with Richardson’s existingKeystone processing facility in Winkler County, which has beenowned and operated by Richardson for more than 50 years.
Westcoast Buys Unocal’s 9% Stake in Alliance
Westcoast Energy announced plans to buy an additional 9.1% shareof the now-approved Alliance Pipeline Project from Unocal Corp.,which indicated its interest in selling the share earlier this yearas part of a corporate restructuring. The purchase will increaseWestcoast’s total interest in the project to 23.6% from 14.5%.Westcoast’s total equity in the project is now about $500 million.The sale is scheduled to close by the end of December, subject tothe completion of formal agreements.
CMS Buys Enerval’s PA Retail Operations
CMS Energy Corp. added to its retail energy marketing businessMonday by purchasing the western Pennsylvania natural gas marketingassets of Enerval, L.L.C., an energy marketing firm with more than250 commercial and industrial customers in that region. Enerval isan indirect subsidiary of Conectiv, the holding company formed inMarch 1998 through the merger of Atlantic City Electric andDelmarva Power and Light. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
Nova Scotia Power Buys Into Maritimes
Nova Scotia Power Inc. completed the purchase of a 12.5%interest in the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline (M&NP)project. This purchase represents a total investment of about $200million.
Williams Buys Rest of Volunteer Energy
Williams Energy Services has acquired full ownership ofVolunteer Energy Corp., increasing its stake from 50%.
Carolina Power Buys NC Natural Gas for $354 M
Seeking to become a “one-stop” energy shop and a larger regionalenergy company, Carolina Power and Light (CP&L) announced itsinitial entry into the gas industry with the acquisition of NorthCarolina Natural Gas (NCNG) through a stock-for-stock transactionworth $354 million. The agreement is still pending state regulatoryand shareholder approval, so no closing date has been announced.The acquisition reflects the strategy CP&L announced last Aprilto become “an organization with the potential to be a one-stopshopping service for our customers.”