Properties

It’s been a month since Western Hub Properties LLC received a regulatory green light on its Lodi Gas Storage Project in Northern California, but the company already is preparing to launch two more storage fields and has several others on the way.

One month after getting the regulatory green light on its Lodigas storage project in Northern California, Western Hub PropertiesLLC said it is about to announce another high-deliverabilitystorage project in Bakersfield, CA, near Wheeler Ridge, and ismoving forward on a storage facility in Live Oak and KarnesCounties, TX, near San Antonio.

Quicksilver Resources Inc. last week completed a deal acquiring CMS Energy Corp.’s Michigan gas and oil exploration and production properties, including the stock of Terra Energy Ltd., as well as other smaller interests in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. The deal was announced in January (see NGI Jan. 24).

Quicksilver Resources Inc. completed its acquisition of CMSEnergy Corp.’s gas and crude oil exploration and productionproperties in Michigan, including the stock of Terra Energy Ltd.,as well as other smaller interests in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.The deal was announced in January (see Daily GPI Jan. 20).

Coastal Oil & Gas and Santa Fe Snyder have exchangedproperties in Utah, Wyoming, Texas and the Gulf of Mexico “toconsolidate assets into core areas for each company. Coastalreceived interests in six GOM blocks, plus the Jeffress Field inSouth Texas and 97,000 acres in Uintah and Duchense Counties inUtah. Coastal also received a cash payment of $18 million. Santa FeSnyder received interests in 22 Wyoming fields in the Green RiverBasin and three units in Gaines County, TX, in the Permian Basin.

Coho Energy Inc., a Dallas-based independent oil and gasproducer focused on exploitation of underdeveloped oil propertiesin Oklahoma and Mississippi, announced it has filed a petition forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Dallas’ Federal BankruptcyCourt. The decision to seek protection was taken by Coho andcertain subsidiaries because the resolution of a restructuringcannot be completed without the protection and assistance of thebankruptcy court, the company said. Timing of the bankruptcy filingwas imposed by several factors including the repayment accelerationof the Company’s $240 million debt by its bank creditors lastThursday (See Daily GPI, Aug. 20), the inability of the banks andthe bondholders (the two large creditor groups) to reach asatisfactory agreement with each other, and the potential for oneof the bondholder’s being granted a summary judgment in its lawsuitagainst Coho for full payment of principal and past due interest.Coho said it is continuing to discuss a solution to its capitalneeds with the banks, the bondholders and other potentialinvestors. The company expects to file a plan of reorganizationwith the bankruptcy court in the near future.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. of Dallas closed a $62.3 millionsale of South Texas gas properties to CNG Producing Co. Proceedswill retire bank debt. Pioneer also agreed to sell a West Texasproperty for $35 million to EnerQuest Oil & Gas of Midland, TX.The property is the last waterflood field operated by Pioneer.Selling the higher-cost field cuts Pioneer’s operating costs. Thetransaction is scheduled to close by the end of the third quarterwith a Jan. 1, 1999 effective date. Pioneer announced the propertysales in June. Pioneer property divestitures in Canada areprogressing as expected, and the company expects to close the lastof several Canadian deals this month. Pioneer has major operationsin the United States, Canada and Argentina.

Spirit Energy 76, Unocal Corp.’s Lower 48 exploration andproduction unit, agreed to sell substantially all of its oil andgas assets in Oklahoma to Magnum Hunter Production Inc. for about$36 million in cash.

Spirit Energy 76, Unocal Corp.’s Lower 48 exploration andproduction unit reached a definitive agreement to sellsubstantially all of its oil and gas assets in Michigan to NewstarEnergy USA Inc. and Omimex Energy Inc. for about $37.25 million incash and 670,000 shares of stock in Newstar Resources, the parentcompany of Newstar Energy.