Start-up costs and rapid Georgia customer acquisitions by itsSouthStar Energy Services partnership with Dynegy and AGLResources, cost Piedmont Natural Gas about $0.06/share during itsthird quarter, which ended July 31, the company reported this week.It experienced a net loss of $8.2 million (-$0.26/share) during thequarter, compared with a net loss of $6.3 million (1$0.20/share)during the same period a year earlier. As of Oct. 1, SouthStar willbe serving more than 450,000 new gas customers in Georgia. Theearnings per share impact of this venture for the first nine monthsof the year was -$0.10/share. Piedmont also noted that weather inits territory was 57% of the thirty-year normal heating degreedays. The company’s margin (revenues less cost of gas) was $44.4million compared with $45.5 million for the comparable year-agoperiod. For the nine-month period, basic earnings per share were$2.17, compared with $2.32 for the year-ago period, and margin was$279.8 million compared with $282.6 million for the prior yearperiod.
Energy
Articles from Energy
Orion Power Buys Generation Assets
Orion Power Holdings Inc., jointly owned by affiliates ofGoldman, Sachs & Co. and Constellation Energy, bought theAstoria Generating Station, Gowanus Gas Turbine and Narrows GasTurbine facilities from Consolidated Edison Co. of New York forabout $550 million.
Industry Brief
The “buy Canadian” bug reached Fort Worth, TX-based QuicksilverResources yesterday as it announced the purchase of controllinginterest in Alberta-based MGV Energy. No terms of the transactionwere disclosed. MGV currently produces 1.2 MMcf/d and has 5 Bcf ofproven producing reserves. The move gives Quicksilver, whichproduces over 50 MMcf/d from developments in Montana, Michigan,Wyoming and Texas, a Canadian presence. “This is the first of manysteps we will undertake in Canada,” said Porter Farrell, aQuicksilver spokesman. “We’ve been very aggressive in establishinga core area up there and are intent on growing it.”
Industry Briefs
Coho Energy Inc., a Dallas-based independent oil and gasproducer focused on exploitation of underdeveloped oil propertiesin Oklahoma and Mississippi, announced it has filed a petition forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Dallas’ Federal BankruptcyCourt. The decision to seek protection was taken by Coho andcertain subsidiaries because the resolution of a restructuringcannot be completed without the protection and assistance of thebankruptcy court, the company said. Timing of the bankruptcy filingwas imposed by several factors including the repayment accelerationof the Company’s $240 million debt by its bank creditors lastThursday (See Daily GPI, Aug. 20), the inability of the banks andthe bondholders (the two large creditor groups) to reach asatisfactory agreement with each other, and the potential for oneof the bondholder’s being granted a summary judgment in its lawsuitagainst Coho for full payment of principal and past due interest.Coho said it is continuing to discuss a solution to its capitalneeds with the banks, the bondholders and other potentialinvestors. The company expects to file a plan of reorganizationwith the bankruptcy court in the near future.
Orion Power Buys Generation Assets
Orion Power Holdings Inc., jointly owned by affiliates ofGoldman, Sachs & Co. and Constellation Energy, bought theAstoria Generating Station, Gowanus Gas Turbine and Narrows GasTurbine facilities from Consolidated Edison Co. of New York forabout $550 million.
Mexico Removes Duty on Gas Imports
Mexico last Monday lifted its 4% tariff on natural gas importedfrom the United States, the Energy Ministry announced. This clearsthe way for expanded gas sales by U.S. companies into thefast-growing markets in northern Mexico.
Lender’s Call for Faster Coho Payments
The financial troubles of Coho Energy reached a new level lastweek as the Dallas-based company received a formal notice from itslenders that the obligations under its $240 million credit facilityhave been accelerated and the lenders intend to exercise all rightsand remedies to satisfy those obligations.
New California Cogen Not Enough
New cogeneration plants are on the move in California, but theymay not be built fast enough to keep up with growing demand.
Mexico Establishes Another Distribution Zone
Mexico’s energy regulatory commission (CRE) created thePuebla-Tlaxcala geographic zone for gas distribution. The zonecovers 51 municipalities in the two states. An investment of about$50 million is expected to develop the project, and Gaz de Francehas expressed an interest.
Industry Briefs
Duke/Fluor Daniel has been awarded a contract by West GeorgiaGenerating Co. L.P., a subsidiary of Sonat Energy Services, toprovide engineering, procurement and construction services for a650 MW dual fuel, gas and distillate oil-fired power plant in UpsonCounty, GA. The power plant will be designed to use four PG7241(FA) gas turbines in simple-cycle operation. The $180 million powerplant, which will be built within the Thomaston Industrial Park inUpson County, is expected to be fully operational by June 1, 2000.A significant portion of the electricity from the plant will besold to Georgia Power under an existing power sales agreement.
