Resources

Southern Company Energy Marketing – the marketing joint ventureof Southern Company unit Southern Energy and Vastar Resources’Vastar Gas Marketing and Vastar Power Marketing – plans to movesome of its Houston employees, mainly traders, to its Atlantaoffice.

Enron Capital & Trade Resources (ECT) agreed to acquireCogen Technologies’ interests in three power plants for $1.1billion and the assumption of about $350 million in non-recoursedebt. ECT will make the acquisition through a special purposeentity in which ECT will own a 50 percent interest. The entity willinvest up to $130 million in equity, with the balance of thepurchase price funded by non-recourse borrowings provided byfinancial institutions. The transaction is expected to close inearly 1999.

Remington Oil and Gas Corp. acquired interests in 10 Gulf ofMexico offshore blocks from Union Pacific Resources (UPR). Seven ofthe blocks are producing, one is anticipated to come on productionbefore year-end, and two are undeveloped. The blocks are on theoffshore Louisiana and Texas shelf in water depths less than 400feet. Interests vary from 5% to 100%, with all of the producingproperties being non-operated. The effective date of thetransaction is Sept. 1 with an anticipated closing prior toyear-end. Unaudited reserves for the blocks are about 7 BCFe with apurchase price of $7.65 million.

Western Gas Resources said Friday it sold its Edgewood gasgathering system and related facilities to Dynegy Inc. for $6.1million, and sold production assets upstream of Edgewood and a 50%joint venture interest in Redman Smackover production project inEast Texas to Vintage Petroleum for $49.7 million. The proceedsfrom the two separate transactions total $55.8 million and Westernsaid it expects to recognize a pre-tax gain of $1 million from thesales in the fourth quarter of 1998. Both transactions closed Oct.29 with effective dates of July 1, 1998 and Nov. 1, 1998,respectively.

Western Gas Resources said Friday it sold its Edgewood gasgathering system and related facilities to Dynegy Inc. for $6.1million, and sold production assets upstream of Edgewood and a 50%joint venture interest in Redman Smackover production project inEast Texas to Vintage Petroleum for $49.7 million. The proceedsfrom the two separate transactions total $55.8 million, and Westernsaid it expects to recognize a pre-tax gain of $1 million from thesales in the fourth quarter of 1998. Both transactions closed Oct.29 with effective dates of July 1, 1998 and Nov. 1, 1998,respectively.

Nuevo Energy Co. agreed to sell its East Texas gas assets for$190.6 million to an affiliate of Samson Resources Co. The EastTexas assets accounted for about 275 Bcfe of Nuevo’s Jan. 1 provedreserves. The properties are long-lived reserves located mainly inthe Oak Hill Field and interests in the Carthage, SE Carthage andChapel Hill fields, as well as small interests and royaltyinterests in additional East Texas fields.

PP&L Global Inc., a subsidiary of PP&L Resources Inc.,plans to build a gas-fired power plant (the Griffith EnergyProject) near Kingman, AZ, with nominal base load capacity of 520MW and a maximum output capability of 650 MW.

Vastar Resources has placed much of its hopes for the future inthe Gulf of Mexico as evidenced by its recent deal to acquireinterests in 23 producing fields through a three-way deal withAtlantic Richfield and Mobil (See Daily GPI Aug. 5, 1998). However,the company realizes it is not alone in pinning its hopes on theGulf and was wise to begin its Gulf of Mexico program when it did.

Western Gas Resources and an affiliate of Colorado InterstateGas announced plans to build a 90-mile 20-inch diameter gatheringsystem and a treating facility to serve the Powder River Basin ofWyoming. The line will be designed to reach the heart of thecoalbed methane development in Campbell and Converse Counties innortheast Wyoming. The system would have an initial capacity of 200MMcf/d, but anticipated participation by third parties will likelycause the system design to be extended and expanded, the companiessaid.