Engaged

The Interior Department and American Petroleum Institute (API) President Jack Gerard engaged in a war of words Wednesday over the impact of the Obama administration’s policies on the development of onshore and offshore oil and natural gas.

To diversify its geographic operational area, DCP Midstream Partners LP has agreed to purchase Michigan Pipeline & Processing LLC (MPP), a privately held company engaged in natural gas gathering and treating services for gas produced from the Antrim Shale of northern Michigan and gas transportation within Michigan, for $145 million.

To diversify its geographic operational area, DCP Midstream Partners LP has agreed to purchase Michigan Pipeline & Processing LLC (MPP), a privately held company engaged in natural gas gathering and treating services for gas produced from the Antrim Shale of northern Michigan and gas transportation within Michigan, for $145 million.

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski held a one-day Energy Summit last Wednesday for the major stakeholders from the public and private sectors in his state, and in his opening and closing remarks he broadened his outlook to be all-inclusive of various traditional and alternative energy options, including the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Kulongoski would not rule out any options and said he will soon create a new state unit to ferret them out.

FERC last Thursday dismissed a complaint that alleged Texas Gas Transmission engaged in discriminatory and preferential behavior when it awarded transportation capacity to affiliate Gulf South Pipeline earlier this year, and it accused the two pipelines of attempting to manipulate the natural gas market.

FERC Thursday dismissed a complaint brought by a Texas marketer against Texas Gas Transmission that alleged that the pipeline engaged in discriminatory and preferential behavior when it awarded transportation capacity to affiliate Gulf South Pipeline, and it accused the two pipelines of attempting to manipulate the natural gas market.

TXU Corp. is “engaged with a variety of potential buyers” to sell most of its natural gas-fired power plants in Texas, the company’s CEO said Friday. TXU has a total of about 10 GW of gas-fired generation in the state, but the plants have become too expensive to run, CEO C. John Wilder told shareholders in the utility’s annual meeting.

Cheniere Energy, Inc. announced late Friday that its indirect, wholly owned subsidiary, Cheniere LNG Holdings, LLC has engaged Credit Suisse to arrange a proposed $500 million Senior Secured Term Loan Facility. Holdings owns Cheniere’s 100% equity interest in Sabine Pass LNG, LP. and Cheniere’s 30% limited partner equity interest in Freeport LNG Development, LP., each of which owns an LNG receiving terminal project that is currently under construction.

EnCana Corp. has notified the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that all of its U.S. subsidiaries that are engaged in natural gas purchase and sale transactions are reporting transaction information to index publishers. The company previously had told FERC that its marketing division was reporting, but its storage unit was not. EnCana said that as of May 28 it had implemented a uniform, automated process for reporting transaction information across all its U.S. subsidiaries.