Purchased

While California energy officials wrestle with where to find more natural gas-fired, renewable-based and purchased power sources of electric generation in the immediate years ahead, regulators and utility officials will be coping with the closure and eventual decommissioning of one of the state’s two major nuclear generation plants.

Gastar Exploration Ltd. announced a three-way deal with Chesapeake Energy Corp. on Monday, in which Gastar purchased proven reserves in the prospective Hunton Limestone formation in Oklahoma, as well as close to 10% of its common stock. The companies also agreed to settle outstanding litigation.

The Laclede Group Inc. is buying Southern Union Co.’s Missouri Gas Energy (MGE) and New England Gas Co. (NEG) utilities for $1.035 billion in cash and debt. Southern Union was purchased earlier this year by Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE) an affiliate of Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP), which focuses on the midstream.

The Laclede Group Inc. is buying Southern Union Co.’s Missouri Gas Energy (MGE) and New England Gas Co. (NEG) utilities for $1.035 billion in cash and debt. Southern Union was purchased earlier this year by Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE) an affiliate of Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP), which focuses on the midstream.

Along with an additional $221 million in costs for mostly natural gas-fired purchased power for its utility, Rosemead, CA-based Edison International is facing a mounting set of problems, which were reflected in third quarter results. The company’s pioneering independent power unit may have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and be cut adrift.

Calpine Corp. said Thursday it has purchased an 800 MW natural gas-fired generation complex in Texas from Bosque Power Co. LLC for $432 million. Calpine expects the deal to close in early November.

The cash market overall surged on average by 17 cents Tuesday as traders scrambled to make up volumes not purchased going into the long holiday weekend, screen prices initiated a solid advance to close at the high end of the day’s range, and traders hinted at expectations of a bullish storage report Thursday. At the close of futures trading, October was 5.5 cents higher at $2.854 and November had added 3.7 cents to $3.000. October crude oil tumbled $1.17 to $95.30/bbl.

Energy patch communications services provider Texas Energy Network LLC (TEN) has purchased from Verizon Wireless lower 700 MHz A and B block wireless spectrum in the Eagle Ford Shale region of South Texas. The wireless spectrum encompasses 28 counties and will allow TEN to offer service over the entire Eagle Ford Shale play, the company said. “…[I]t will allow us to provide a much needed service to our customers who have been requesting improved communications services in the oilfield for some time,” said TEN CEO Gregory M. Casey. “We intend to build-out our wireless coverage of the Eagle Ford shale region with a 4G LTE network as soon as possible to bring high-speed bandwidth to the region.” The company is currently building a network in the Permian Basin as well. Separately, communications provider ERF Wireless said in April it hired a contractor to build out two high-speed wireless broadband networks in two separate areas of the Permian Basin region adjacent to existing ERF Wireless networks. In addition, ERF Wireless is using its own crews to construct three new networks that are near the extensive terrestrial wireless network system already owned and operated by ERF Wireless in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. ERF is active in the Eagle Ford as well (see Shale Daily, Jan. 13, 2011).

Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) said Thursday that it has made an agreement to provide natural gas gathering, processing and transportation services in the Woodford and Barnett shales for XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corp.