Expands

Not only did FERC yesterday find that El Paso Natural Gas’controversial methods for allocating capacity at delivery points”may be unjust and unreasonable,” but it expanded the scope of thereview to include the pipeline’s allocation methods and poolingprocedures at all of its receipt points.

CMS Energy Corp.’s energy marketing unit, CMS Marketing,Services and Trading (CMS-MST), announced last week the acquisitionof Viron Corp., a Kansas City, MO-based energy services company,from York International for an undisclosed sum. Viron will operateunder the name CMS Viron Energy Services, a subsidiary of CMS-MST.The deal was signed and closed last week.

Phillips Petroleum entered a new production area last week whenit announced a 50% acquisition of Yates Petroleum Co.’s coal-bedmethane acreage in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. Financial termswere not disclosed. The announcement came just days after rumorscirculated throughout the industry concerning a potential Chevronmerger with Phillips (see related story).

Amidst major merger rumors, Phillips Petroleum focused on itsown operations yesterday, as it announced a 50% acquisition ofYates Petroleum Co.’s coalbed methane acreage in Wyoming’s PowderRiver Basin. Financial terms were not disclosed.

energyOn.com, an e-commerce company offering a consumer resourceWeb site which lets customers in deregulated gas and electricmarkets compare service offers, has expanded its service territoryto include New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The companyalready provided information on markets in Ohio, and expects to addmany more states in the near future. Information on gas andelectric supplier choices in California will be launched later thismonth, the company said.

The customer choice program in Washington D.C. has opened toinclude all District residents and more large and small commercialcustomers Washington Gas announced Friday. The Public ServiceCommission of the District of Columbia recently expanded theresidential program, lowered the requirements to qualify for thelarge commercial program, and approved Washington Gas’ smallcommercial program.

The Mexican Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) awarded thelicense to build and operate a gas distribution system in the LaLaguna-Durango geographic zone in north-central Mexico toDistribuidora de Gas Natural de La Laguna-Durango S. de R.L. deC.V. (DGN), wholly owned by San Diego-based Sempra EnergyInternational.

El Paso Field Services entered the energy project financingarena with Wednesday’s purchase of En Cap Investment Co. for $52million in cash and stock. Robert Phillips, El Paso Field Services’president, said all regulatory issues have been settled and thedeal will be accretive to El Paso’s earnings beginning April 1.

Evergreen Resources, Inc. announced Thursday the acquisition of41,000 gross Raton Basin acres from Infinity Inc. affiliate, CISOil and Gas, for $8.5 million. Evergreen estimates this additionwill increase its coal-bed methane proved net gas reserves by 22.5Bcf. The company now holds working majority interest in 200,000acres in the basin. The effective date of the transaction was Dec.31, 1998.