Seven years after it abandoned a bid to acquire U.S. oil and gas producer Unocal Corp., China’s CNOOC Ltd. is making a run for Canada’s Nexen Inc. with an offer in the same ballpark as what it proposed to pay for Unocal. Politics and trade policy are expected to be features of debate over the deal as CNOOC seeks approvals in Canada and the United States.
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Industry Briefs
Sempra Energy’s Los Angeles-based Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) utility is making preparations to install nearly six million smart gas meters in what is said to be the largest such program ever undertaken in the gas utility sector. Sempra’s combination utility, San Diego Gas and Electric Co. is currently installing both gas and electric smart meters throughout its system in San Diego County and southern Orange County. SoCalGas’s $1 billion program is expected to take through 2017 to complete. The utility’s representatives have been meeting with community leaders to explain the advanced metering network while they also has assemble a 150-person internal staff to carry out the implementation with contractors.
U.S. Shale Pushing Canada’s Gas, Oil Elsewhere
Nebraska farmers, their state government, environmentalists, the White House and U.S. shale drilling have prodded the Canadian gas and oil industry into making a sharp break with old habits of depending on North American demand for its products.
U.S. Shale Pushing Canada’s Gas, Oil Elsewhere
Nebraska farmers, their state government, environmentalists, the White House and U.S. shale drilling have prodded the Canadian gas and oil industry into making a sharp break with old habits of depending on North American demand for its products.
Sempra Execs: LNG Exports Limited, But Cameron Competitive
Making a case for a proposed $6 billion joint venture liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility at the company’s under-used Cameron LNG site in Louisiana, Sempra Energy senior executives said there are limits to the global LNG market and Sempra’s proposed project, now fully subscribed, will be competitive.
Bakken Rich: MDU Sees Oil Production Soar
Setting aside low natural gas prices and unseasonably warm weather in the first quarter, Bismarck, ND-based MDU Resources Group Inc. is riding the continuing Bakken Shale boom in its home state, growing its oil production 19% for the first three months of this year and increasing its working rig count from two to 10 for its exploration and production (E&P) unit over the most recent quarter-over-quarter period.
Wyoming Gov: Prepare for 8% Budget Cuts from Low Gas Prices
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead warned his state agencies to prepare for making 8% cuts in their budgets in response to a dwindling revenue stream due to inordinately low natural gas prices. The average expected gas prices since the new budget was calculated in January have plummeted to below $2/MMcf, compared to $3.25/MMcf.
Sierra Club Files ‘Public Interest’ Protest Against LNG Export
The Sierra Club is making a last ditch effort to derail exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by Cheniere Energy Inc.’s Sabine Pass LNG, and what it claims will be the consequent expansion of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) well stimulation activities should exports go forward.
NW Natural Likes Storage Despite Current Lows
Despite current low prices and decreased volatility that are making natural gas storage plays unattractive, Portland, OR-based NW Natural is sticking with its strategy for operating and expanding merchant storage facilities in the West.
Industry Briefs
Exelon Corp. and Constellation have completed their $8 billion merger, making the combined company the second-largest residential electricity and natural gas distribution company in the nation. The closure of the merger came only days after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the deal. The Department of Justice and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission — as well as Maryland, New York and Texas regulators and the shareholders of the two companies — all cleared the marriage. The merger transaction was first announced in April 2011 (see NGI, May 2, 2011). The three utilities within the new company, which will retain the Exelon name, — Baltimore Gas and Electric, Commonwealth Edison and PECO Energy Co. — will serve 6.6 million natural gas and electric customers across Maryland, Illinois and Pennsylvania. The merged company will be the nation’s largest energy provider in terms of load — with about 164 terawatt hours — and customers, serving millions of businesses and households across 47 states, the District of Columbia and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Ontario. Current Exelon president and CEO Christopher M. Crane will be president and CEO of the combined company, while Mayo A. Shattuck III, who is chairman and CEO of Constellation, will be executive chairman. The newly merged firm will remain headquartered in Chicago.