Equity

In the latest of several joint investments, JPMorgan Partners (JPMP), a private equity affiliate of JPMorgan Chase & Co., and the principals of Bear Cub Energy, LLC, Thomas J. Edelman and Robert J. Clark, has purchased the East Texas gas gathering and processing assets of Hanover Compressor for $50 million.

Falcon Gas Storage announced Wednesday that GAStorage Investment LLC, a company organized by Arcapita, a global investment group, has bought a 90% equity stake in Falcon and has provided additional capital to complete the construction Falcon’s gas storage facilities. The total value of the initial transaction is $100 million.

With oil and natural gas prices expected to remain high and earnings continuing to grow, Prudential Equity Group on Monday raised its ratings on exploration and production companies to “favorable” from “neutral” and lifted its commodity price forecasts to $6.50/Mcf for gas and $50/bbl for crude oil through the rest of 2005 and into 2006.

Don’t be fooled by the 269 Bcf (26%) gas storage surplus compared to the five-year average of working gas levels, analysts at Raymond James & Associates warned in an equity research note last week. The gas market is tighter than those numbers would suggest, and “weather-disguised tightness should begin to show up soon.”

Don’t be fooled by the 227 Bcf (22%) gas storage surplus compared to the five-year average of working gas levels, analysts at Raymond James & Associates warned in an equity research note on Monday. The gas market is tighter than those numbers would suggest and the “weather-disguised tightness should begin to show up soon.”

Prudential Equity Group has raised natural gas and oil price forecasts for this year and through 2005, and analysts also expressed enthusiasm for exploration and production companies in a new report. Merrill Lynch also warmed to integrated oil and natural gas producers, noting that the rally in commodity prices should encourage long-term investments.

The Government of Canada is now out of the oil and natural gas business, netting nearly C$3.2 billion (US$2.5 billion) from the sale of its remaining 19% stake in Petro-Canada Ltd. In the record equity offering, 49.4 million common shares were sold for C$64.50 ($50.42) per share.

The Government of Canada is now out of the oil and natural gas business, netting nearly C$3.2 billion (US$2.5 billion) from the sale of its remaining 19% stake in Petro-Canada Ltd. In the record equity offering, 49.4 million common shares were sold for C$64.50 ($50.42) per share.

KeySpan Corp., through its KeySpan Energy Development Corp. unit, last week picked up a 21% equity interest in the stalled Millennium Pipeline project, which hopes to deliver new natural gas supplies to New York and the Northeast by the winter of 2006-2007.