Energy

Westcoast Energy announced it has agreed to sell its Albertanatural gas distribution business, Centra Gas Alberta, based inLeduc, BC, to AltaGas Services of Calgary for $61 million. Thecompany distributes gas to 53,000 residential, rural and smallindustrial customers in 90 communities in central Alberta.

The Texas Railroad Commission (TRC) issued a complaint and offerof settlement to Mitchell Energy & Development alleging pasttechnical violations of drilling and completion rules. Thecomplaint involves 112 wells, all of which were drilled more than35 years ago. The TRC said the actual depth of the surface casingset in each well was shorter than the depth required by andreported to the commission. Mitchell said there is no evidence ofpollution from the wells.

Seagull Energy agreed to buy an interest in a package of onshoreoil and gas properties in East Texas and western Oklahoma for $102million. The Houston-based company is buying the stock of privatelyheld BRG Petroleum of Tulsa, OK, and the assets of BRG’s limitedpartnerships and programs. The deal should be completed in about 60days. Proved oil and gas reserves total about 103 Bcfe. Dailyproduction from the properties net to the combined BRG interestslast year averaged about 18 MMcf/d of gas and 400 barrels of oiland natural gas liquids. Seagull has identified more than 160drilling locations and 60 recompletion opportunities, primarily inEast Texas. Seagull said it expects significant increases in bothproved reserves and production over the next few years.

In upholding the rolled-in rate settlement of PG&E GasTransmission Northwest Corp., the Federal Energy RegulatoryCommission ruled last week that replacement shippers who receivedpermanent releases of older, pre-expansion capacity were similarlysituated to the system’s expansion shippers and, therefore, shouldbe charged similar rates.

Canadian Occidental Petroleum subsidiary CXY Energy of Dallasagreed to acquire 50% of Fina Oil and Chemical’s interests in 64lease blocks in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mitchell Energy & Development replaced 187% percent of thegas and oil reserves it produced in fiscal 1998, even while settinga new high for annual gas sales of 238 MMcf/d.

In the official launch of the $3 billion Sable Offshore EnergyProject (SOEP) in Halifax earlier this week, project owners raisedexpectations for gas reserves and production. “Our ongoingtechnical studies and interpretation of the 3-D seismic informationgathered in 1996 and 1997 show that the potential exists for morethan the 3.1 Tcf we estimated as the basis for our development planapplication,” said Mobil Oil Canada President Jerry Anderson. “Thegood news is that we might expect to recover more than 3.5 Tcf.This larger potential resource base will enable us to increaseinitial production rates to more than 500 MMcf/d, depending on suchfactors as markets, well performance and operating efficiency.” Theowners originally expected 460 MMcf/d. The additional production,however, will be within the facilities design capacity of 554MMcf/d, they said.