Sell

After exploring its options, Occidental Petroleum Corp. of LosAngeles agreed to sell for C$29.61/share its 29.2% stake inCanadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd. for gross proceeds of C$1.2billion Canadian. Occidental expects after-tax net proceeds to beUS$700 million and to report a gain of US$300 million.

Oneok Inc. of Tulsa, OK, agreed to sell its 42.3% interest inthe Indian Basin Gas Processing Plant and gathering system for $55million to El Paso Field Services Co. The transaction is expectedto close by the end of March.

As part of its portfolio rationalization effort, Texaco saidlast week that it has agreed to sell $161.1 million worth ofsouthwestern and Midcontinent properties to Bargo Energy. Theeffective date of the purchase was Jan. 1, 2000 and closing isexpected to occur late in the first quarter of this year.

Sabine Pipe Line Co. last week got the go-ahead from FERC tosell a small segment of its pipeline system in Texas and Louisianaas part of its effort to restructure its business into a limitedliability company.

As part of its portfolio rationalization effort, Texaco saidyesterday that it has agreed to sell $161.1 million worth ofsouthwestern and Midcontinent properties to Bargo Energy. Theeffective date of the purchase is January 1, 2000 and closing isexpected to occur late in the first quarter of this year.

Foiled in its bid to sell 1.25 Bcf/d of capacity to Enron NorthAmerica, El Paso Natural Gas announced late yesterday the capacityhad been won in a rebid by affiliate, El Paso Merchant Energy-GasL.P. for $38.5 million.

Moving another step closer to becoming a privately-held company,MidAmerican Energy announced yesterday that its shareholdersoverwhelmingly approved the company’s proposed sale to BerkshireHathaway Inc. The company anticipates receiving all requiredapprovals in the first quarter of this year.

Ocean Energy, Inc. said yesterday that it has agreed to sell allof its interests and assets in its East Bay Complex for $86million. The buyer’s identity was not disclosed. The propertiesconsist of South Pass 24, South Pass 27 and South Pass 39 Fields,located in the Mississippi Delta Region of the Gulf of Mexico. Thetransaction is expected to close March 31 subject to normal andcustomary conditions. CEO James Hackett said in a statement thatthe move was made in order to high-grade Ocean’s balance sheet andgain capital so that it could accumulate higher margin inventory.

In what may have been a Pyrrhic victory for bulls, natural gasprices cruised to its seventh straight advance yesterday as tradeand local buyers took the February contract to its highest level inalmost a month.