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Recent acquisitions have put Australia’s BHP Billiton Ltd. in the “shale of the shales” and positioned it to be a low-cost provider in the development-friendly United States, the company’s petroleum unit chief, J. Michael Yeager, told financial analysts, noting that plans to export liquefied U.S. gas to the rest of the world are racing ahead and BHP is ready.

AltaGas Ltd. has agreed to buy Vancouver-based Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. (PNG) for C$36.75/share (approximately C$230 million), a 20% premium based on the C$30.50 Oct. 28 closing price for PNG shares, the Calgary-based company said.

AltaGas Ltd. has agreed to buy Vancouver-based Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. (PNG) for C$36.75/share (approximately C$230 million), a 20% premium based on the C$30.50 Oct. 28 closing price for PNG shares, the Calgary-based company said Monday.

After climbing a couple of cents each day for the first four days of the week, cash point averages across the board gave all of the premium back and then some as a vast majority of prices dropped by more than 20 cents on Friday.

September natural gas ground lower as traders saw no additional risk premium resulting from a strengthening Hurricane Irene and predicted that the market would continue to trade in a narrow range. At the close September futures had fallen 5.1 cents to $3.889 and October had retreated 7.2 cents to $3.869. September crude oil rose $1.86 to $84.12/bbl.

July natural gas futures expired on a firm note Tuesday as traders had to factor in a slightly higher weather premium as a tropical system was upgraded and near-term weather forecasts called for warm temperatures. At the close July natural gas rose 10.1 cents to $4.357 and August added 9.0 cents to $4.354. August crude oil surged $2.28 to $92.89/bbl.

Once the spin-off of El Paso Corp.’s exploration and production (E&P) business is completed, the yet-to-be-named independent producer will be formidable competition in some of the prolific unconventional natural gas and oil plays in the United States, CEO Doug Foshee said.

The board of EXCO Resources Inc. has formed a special committee to consider a buyout proposal from CEO Douglas H. Miller. Evaluation of the offer — and any others that might come — is expected by analysts to take anywhere from six to 12 months.

Marking a U-turn of sorts in the company’s exploration and production strategy due to low natural gas prices and a premium on liquids prices, Range Resources Corp. in its 3Q2010 earnings call put its Barnett Shale properties in Texas on the block and announced that it plans to focus on its “liquids-rich plays” in the Marcellus Shale.