Sell

Plains Exploration & Production Co. (PXP) said Friday it will sell a one-fifth interest in its offshore unit, which holds all of its promising Gulf of Mexico (GOM) prospects, to EIG Global Energy Partners for $450 million in cash.

The Appalachian Basin has ample amounts of undeveloped ethane and no nearby place to sell it, but the numerous proposals to ship it to move it elsewhere remain challenged by the marketplace, several project sponsors told an audience in Pittsburgh on Oct. 21.

Marathon Oil Corp., which recently completed the spinoff of its refining arm to concentrate on exploration and production, is evaluating whether to sell some of its interests in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), a spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.

Oilfield services provider Platinum Energy Solutions Inc. filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell up to $300 million of common stock in an initial public offering. The Houston-based company, which specializes in hydraulic fracturing in unconventional oil and natural gas plays, coiled tubing and other pressure pumping services, has operations in Texas and northwestern Louisiana. Platinum’s “quintuplex” pumping units are capable of delivering up to 2,500 hydraulic horsepower with an 80% efficiency, according to the company. Platinum said it has applied to list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker FRAC.

SandRidge Energy Inc. has agreed to sell its East Texas natural gas properties in Gregg, Harrison, Rusk and Panola counties to NFR Energy LLC for $231 million. The properties include about 25,000 net acres with average 2011 production of approximately 25 MMcfe/d. Proceeds from the deal, which is expected to close in November, will be used to fund a portion of SandRidge’s oil-focused drilling program, the Oklahoma City, OK-based company said. As a result of the sale, SandRidge expects production to be 23.9 MMBoe in 2011 and 27.7 MMBoe in 2012. SandRidge recently increased its 2011 production guidance to 24.1 MMboe from the previously announced 23.3 MMboe.

NextEra Energy Resources LLC (NER), a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc., said one of its subsidiaries has agreed to sell its interest in four natural gas power plants to an LS Power affiliate for $1.05 billion. The facilities are the 507 MW Blythe Energy Center in Blythe, CA; the 668 MW Calhoun Energy Center in Eastaboga, AL; the 98 MW Cherokee Energy Center in Gaffney, SC; and the 879 MW Doswell Energy Center in Ashland, VA. An NER affiliate will initially continue to operate the facilities through service contracts. Closing is expected during 4Q2011, pending approval from regulators and third parties.

Atlas Pipeline Partners LP (APL) has signed agreements with DCP NGL Services LLC (DCP), a subsidiary of DCP Midstream LLC, to sell its natural gas liquids (NGL) production from each of APL’s processing facilities in Oklahoma and Texas. The agreements are based on Mont Belvieu NGL pricing and each has a term of 15 years, which will become effective at various times upon expiration of APL’s existing NGL sales agreements, the company said. The agreements provide long-term support for APL’s previously announced expansions at its WestTX, WestOK and Velma systems (see Daily GPI, May 16). The arrangements also allow for the sale of additional NGLs from the West Texas plants on an interim basis.

Pittsburgh’s CONSOL Energy Inc., which has increasingly been focused on its Appalachian natural gas operations, agreed Thursday to sell Noble Energy Inc. half of its 663,350 net-acre leasehold in a portion of the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, including a half-stake in existing wells, under a multi-year transaction valued at $3.4 billion.

Swift Energy Co. agreed to sell its interests in six fields in South Louisiana, two in Texas and one in Alabama to an undisclosed private oil and gas company for $53.5 million. Swift said it would use the proceeds to fund a portion its 2011 capital expenditures. Production attributable to the fields being sold averaged 10.6 MMcfe/d during 1Q2011 with aggregate proved reserves of 92.2 Bcfe (19% proved developed producing and 65% natural gas) at year-end 2010. The sale is expected to close within the next two months.