Foothold

With two recent deals Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. is growing its foothold in the Appalachian Basin in what CEO Gary C. Evans called “a long-dated call option on natural gas.”

In two deals announced Monday Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. is growing its foothold in the Appalachian Basin in what CEO Gary C. Evans called “a long-dated call option in natural gas.

Looking to expand its oil and natural gas field services operations in Western Canada while gaining a foothold in Alaska, Calgary-based Total Energy Services Inc. has agreed to acquire the drilling services, rental and transportation business currently operated by DC Energy Services Inc. for C$44.5 million (US$42 million), the company said Tuesday.

After going live on Dec. 6 with over-the-counter (OTC) trading of UK natural gas on its system, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) said the new offering is off to a strong start with 115 trades at the National Balancing Point (NBP) hub with volume of 205 million therms.

After going live on Dec. 6 with over-the-counter (OTC) trading of UK natural gas on its system, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) said the new offering is off to a strong start with 115 trades at the National Balancing Point (NBP) hub with volume of 205 million therms.

Looking to establish a foothold in the PJM market, NRG Energy last Monday announced that it has acquired 1,081 MW of baseload electric generating plants from Delmarva Power and Light, a subsidiary of Conectiv. As part of the agreement, NRG entered into both short- and long-term purchase power contracts with Delmarva Power to provide energy and capacity for the Delmarva Peninsula.

El Paso Corp. gained a foothold in western Canada yesterday with the purchase of Canadian independent Velvet Exploration Ltd. for C$8.15/share or about US$280 million, including the assumption of US$52 million in debt. Velvet holds about 172 Bcf of net proved reserves (59% gas) in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and 403,000 acres of undeveloped land. El Paso said the total acquisition cost per proved thousand cubic feet equivalent (Mcfe) is US$1.16, after allocating value to Velvet’s land, seismic position and tax pools.

Looking to establish a foothold in the PJM market, NRG Energy yesterday announced that it has acquired 1,081 MW of baseload electric generating plants from Delmarva Power and Light, a subsidiary of Conectiv. As part of the agreement, NRG entered into both short- and long-term purchase power contracts with Delmarva Power to provide energy and capacity for the Delmarva Peninsula.

El Paso Corp. gained a foothold in western Canada last week with the purchase of Canadian independent Velvet Exploration Ltd. for C$8.15/share or about US$280 million, including the assumption of US$52 million in debt. Velvet holds about 172 Bcf of net proved reserves (59% gas) in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and 403,000 acres of undeveloped land. El Paso said the total acquisition cost per proved thousand cubic feet equivalent (Mcfe) is US$1.16, after allocating value to Velvet’s land, seismic position and tax pools.