Deals

A large majority of points softened Monday as significant heating load was generally scarce and winter term deals along with sparse use of storage were able to meet many buyers’ needs.

Williams may have come up short in its bid to acquire Southern Union Co., but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other deals waiting to be made, CEO Alan Armstrong said last week.

Williams may have come up short in its bid to acquire Southern Union Co., but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other deals waiting to be made, CEO Alan Armstrong said Wednesday.

Calgary-based NOVA Chemicals Corp., which has been doing deals to ensure it has enough natural gas liquids (NGL) for its Canadian chemicals facilities, has secured a lease with midstream operator Provident Energy Ltd. for two underground NGL storage caverns now being developed.

NuStar Energy LP has signed separate deals with Valero Energy Corp. and EOG Resources Inc. that will affect several shale plays. Under the Valero deal, NuStar will construct a new pipeline to transport Eagle Ford crude oil to Valero’s processing plants. Meanwhile, EOG will ship 70,000 b/d of crude oil from the Bakken, Eagle Ford and other shale plays by train to NuStar’s terminal at St. James, LA, and will add 360,000 bbl of storage capacity there. NuStar’s share of construction costs should be between $30 million and $40 million.

A pair of investment deals announced Wednesday would provide approximately $470 million for much-needed midstream infrastructure in North American shale plays.

Houston-based Marathon, which is the fourth largest integrated producer in the United States, began leasing acreage in the DJ Basin in 2010. It currently is acquiring 2-D and 3-D seismic data and expects to participate in eight to 12 gross exploration wells by the end of the year.

W&T Offshore Inc. grew its proved reserves by 31% last year, thanks largely to two big acquisitions from Shell Offshore Inc. and a U.S. unit of Total SA. And more deals will likely be in the offing this year, according to CEO Tracy Krohn.

W&T Offshore Inc. grew its proved reserves by 31% last year, thanks largely to two big acquisitions from Shell Offshore Inc. and a U.S. unit of Total SA. And more deals will likely be in the offing this year, according to CEO Tracy Krohn.