Privately

A privately held, Seattle, WA-based firm, Prometheus Energy, by the end of the year will begin commercial operations on a small-scale liquefaction plant at a landfill in Southern California, seeking to produce 5,000 gallons/day of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the Orange County public transit bus system that already runs on LNG. Prometheus’ backers are betting that landfill, coal bed and various sources of uneconomic/”stranded” gas supplies can be tapped globally for the transportation market.

Grapevine, TX-based Reichmann Petroleum Corp, a privately held independent oil and gas operator, said Tuesday that it has formed a strategic partnership with Dallas, TX-based Striker Petroleum LLC to focus on natural gas production in the South Texas area.

Devon Energy Corp. tightened its grip on the Barnett Shale on Thursday, completing its $2.2 billion acquisition of privately held Chief Holdings LLC (see Daily GPI, May 3). Devon will now be producing almost half of the overall production from the Barnett, considered the largest natural gas field in Texas.

Fort Worth-based XTO Energy Inc. agreed to buy privately held Peak Energy Resources Inc., a Barnett Shale producer, for equity consideration of 2.555 million shares of XTO common stock, valued at $105 million.

A dark horse in the race for siting a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal along the U.S. West Coast, NorthernStar Natural Gas, Inc., a U.S.-owned and managed privately held company created specifically to site LNG facilities, announced Monday it has completed a $100 million private offering of convertible notes to qualified institutional buyers.

In a clear indication that privately financed, natural gas-fired power generation is still in fashion, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Tuesday announced a recent request-for-offers (RFOs) has turned up 1,760 MW of new combined-cycle generation plants, equating to more than $1.5 billion of new energy infrastructure in the northern half of California. The RFO drew more than 50 respondents, totaling more than 12,000 MW — all natural gas-fired supplies, PG&E’s utility said.

In a clear indication that privately financed, natural gas-fired power generation is still in fashion, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Tuesday announced a recent request-for-offers (RFOs) has turned up 1,760 MW of new combined-cycle generation plants, equating to more than $1.5 billion of new energy infrastructure in the northern half of California. The RFO drew more than 50 respondents, totaling more than 12,000 MW — all natural gas-fired supplies, PG&E’s utility said.

Houston-based Noble Energy Inc. expanded its core operations in the Wattenberg field in Montana last week with the purchase of privately held United States Exploration Inc. for $411 million. The transaction will add an estimated 248 Bcfe to Noble’s proved reserves, of which 41% are proved developed and 55% are natural gas.

Houston-based Noble Energy Inc. expanded its core operations in the Wattenberg field in Montana Thursday with the purchase of privately held United States Exploration Inc. for $411 million. The transaction will add an estimated 248 Bcfe to Noble’s proved reserves, of which 41% are proved developed and 55% are natural gas.