Privately

Alta Mesa Holdings LP, a privately held energy producer based in Houston, on Wednesday agreed to acquire Meridian Resource Corp. for $26.8 million in cash and assume all of the company’s outstanding debt, estimated at about $96 million.

FERC’s analysis leading to the initiation of a Natural Gas Act Section 5 investigation into the rates of Northern Natural Gas was “flawed, superficial and incomplete,” Mark Hewett, Northern Natural president, told customers last Tuesday.

Houston-based contracting services provider Quanta Services Inc. has agreed to acquire privately held Price Gregory Services Inc., a natural gas and oil transmission pipeline infrastructure services provider, for cash and stock worth about $350 million. The deal is in anticipation of “substantial growth” in infrastructure development to support unconventional gas plays, Quanta said.

Houston-based contracting services provider Quanta Services Inc. has agreed to acquire privately held Price Gregory Services Inc., a natural gas and oil transmission pipeline infrastructure services provider, for cash and stock worth about $350 million. The deal is in anticipation of “substantial growth” in infrastructure development to support unconventional gas plays, Quanta said.

Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks hopes to swing for the fences in a $582 million trade that would give him privately held independent Resolute Natural Resources Co. Under terms of the transaction announced last week, the producer, founded by Natural Gas Partners (NGP), would go public and be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks hopes to swing for the fences in a $582 million trade that would give him privately held independent Resolute Natural Resources Co. Under terms of the transaction announced Monday, the producer, founded by Natural Gas Partners (NGP), would go public and be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Privately held Puget Sound Energy (PSE) filed a revised integrated resource plan (IRP) with Washington state regulators Thursday, calling for up to a 30% increase in its energy efficiency goals, along with stepped-up development of renewable resources and natural gas-fired generation. The 2009 IRP, filed with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, covers a 20-year horizon in assessing the utility’s resource needs.

K.P. Kauffman Co. Inc. (KPK), a privately owned Denver-based producer, has prevailed in a class-action lawsuit that sought more than $10.6 million for underpayment of natural gas royalties.

K.P. Kauffman Co. Inc. (KPK), a privately owned Denver-based producer, has prevailed in a class-action lawsuit that sought more than $10.6 million for underpayment of natural gas royalties.