Canada

Denver-based MarkWest Hydrocarbon Inc. said it is selling its MarkWest Resources Canada Corp. subsidiary for C$102.5 million, excluding debt and other liabilities, to Advantage Energy Income Fund. The sale price may be increased by C$2.5 million if certain lands are retained through additional drilling prior to Dec. 31. The sale is part of the company’s strategy to focus on its master limited partnership, MarkWest Energy Partners LP. MarkWest Hydrocarbon Inc. recently reported a third quarter net loss of $7 million, or minus 74 cents/share, compared to a net loss of $3.2 million, or minus 34 cents per share for the third quarter of 2002. For the nine months ended Sept. 30 it reported net income of $2 million, or 21 cents/share, compared to a net loss of $5.1 million, or 54 cents/share. MarkWest said it would use the net proceeds from the sale to retire debt outstanding under its existing bank revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes. It continues to evaluate options for its wholly owned subsidiary, MarkWest Canadian Midstream Services Inc., which holds natural gas exploration assets located in the Bigstone-Berland River area of west-central Alberta.

Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) approved new tolls for TransCanada PipeLines’ Mainline for this year that include slightly lower charges in TransCanada’s Eastern Zone but an increase in the minimum bid floor price for interruptible transportation service to 110% of firm from 80%, to provide an incentive for shippers to sign up for firm capacity.

A top Canadian agricultural concern, Cargill Ltd., reported last Wednesday that it closed a deal to buy Mirant Corp.’s Canadian natural gas aggregator services contracts and a major slice of its gas transportation and storage contracts. Terms of the sale, which was first announced in May, were not disclosed.

Canada’s National Energy Board released fresh evidence that the turning point in conventional western Canadian supplies has arrived. Despite strong prices and spare capacity on the TransCanada system, the board’s monitoring system has registered the third straight monthly decline in deliveries to the United States.

Canada’s National Energy Board released fresh evidence that the turning point in conventional western Canadian supplies has arrived. Despite strong prices and spare capacity on the TransCanada system, the board’s monitoring system has registered the third straight monthly decline in deliveries to the United States.

Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) has concluded in a new energy market assessment that the Maritimes natural gas market is “working as well as could be expected” for a small market without gas storage facilities or a liquid spot market. There is no evidence of discrimination by exporters against domestic consumers, the NEB said in its first report on the health of the Maritimes gas market since its decision last year to reject gas export restrictions proposed by New Brunswick (see Daily GPI, Sept. 20, 2002).

Marathon Oil Co. announced last week its intent to solicit offers for the company’s interests in Western Canada, which account for approximately 21,000 boe/d of net production, including about 100 MMcf/d of gas and 4,000 b/d of liquids.

The weather continued to range Thursday from memories of winter in Canada and the northern third of the U.S. to hints of summer across the South and Southwest, with the territory in between serving as a buffer with varying but mostly spring-like conditions. The cash market tended to reflect such fundamentals, ranging within a dime up or down from flat in most cases, but with the positive moves outweighing the negative ones.

Marathon Oil Co. announced Monday its intent to solicit offers for the company’s interests in Western Canada, which account for approximately 21,000 boe/d of net production, including about 100 MMcf/d of gas and 4,000 b/d of liquids.