Renamed

Although renamed, Kinder Morgan’s El Paso Natural Gas Co. (EPNG) unit is on track to put in service next year a 60-mile, 36-inch diameter natural gas pipeline in Arizona, connecting the EPNG southern system near Tucson to the Mexican border under the new name of the Sierrita Lateral Project (formerly Sasabe).

HollyFrontier Corp. and Holly Energy Partners LP are collaborating to construct a rail facility that will enable crude oil loading and unloading near HollyFrontier’s Artesia and/or Lovington, NM, refining facilities. The rail project, which will be connected to Holly Energy’s crude oil pipeline system in southeastern New Mexico, will have an initial capacity of up to 70,000 b/d and will enable access to a variety of crude oil types including West Texas Intermediate, West Texas Sour and Western Canadian Select. The project will provide additional crude oil takeaway options for producers as crude production in the region continues to grow, and an expanded set of crude oil sourcing options for HollyFrontier. Completion is expected by early 2014.

Pennsylvania-based natural gas and electric utility UGI Utilities Inc. has purchased the gas utility assets of PG Energy from Southern Union Co. for $580 million. The assets, which will be renamed UGI Penn Natural Gas Inc., will add nearly 158,000 customers to its gas operations. The gas division had been serving 307,000 customers in 14 Pennsylvania counties. The sale is expected to be accretive to earnings in the first full fiscal year of ownership, according to UGI Corp. Chairman Lon R. Greenberg. Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP provided legal services to UGI in connection with the acquisition. Through its subsidiaries, UGI Corp. owns 44% of AmeriGas Partners LP, the nation’s largest retail propane marketer, and it owns Antargaz, one of the largest liquefied petroleum gas distributors in France.

With its restructuring efforts essentially complete, El Paso Corp. has simplified its corporate structure and renamed its production holding company to El Paso Exploration & Production Co. to reflect a stronger focus on producing domestic oil and natural gas. Lisa Stewart, president of El Paso Production and Non-regulated Operations, will continue to lead the unit.

One of the nation’s largest merchant energy marketers, recently renamed and publicly held Commerce Energy Group, Inc., Monday named a new CEO with an extensive energy background, Steven S. Boss. He will bring along a new chief financial officer following last week’s removal of the president/CEO and CFO at the Southern California-based firm.

Ownesboro, KY-based TGT Pipeline LLC, a subsidiary of Loews Corp., has changed its name to Boardwalk Pipelines LLC. The renamed company is the parent of two operating subsidiaries in the interstate gas pipeline industry, Texas Gas Transmission LLC and Gulf South Pipeline Co. LP, whose names will remain unchanged.

Ownesboro, KY-based TGT Pipeline LLC, a subsidiary of Loews Corp., has changed its name to Boardwalk Pipelines LLC. The renamed company is the parent of two operating subsidiaries in the interstate gas pipeline industry, Texas Gas Transmission LLC and Gulf South Pipeline Co. LP, whose names will remain unchanged.

As it kicked off the first business day of the new year announcing developments in its liquefied natural gas (LNG) plans, San Diego-based Sempra Energy put in place its previously announced realignment of re-named companies operating in various parts of the energy industry separate from its two major California-based utilities. Part of the realignment was consolidating all LNG projects under a re-named “Sempra LNG” unit.

In a saga that could be renamed “The Incredible Shrinking Company,” Enron Corp. told the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a filing last week that up to 38% of the total assets it listed when it filed for bankruptcy — $24 billion in assets and derivative values — should be erased because of “possible accounting errors or irregularities” that overstated the company’s value. The company also warned of a possible $8-10 billion reduction to unwind some of its derivatives contracts.