Sold

Three medium-sized public sector power utilities in California on Thursday sold $901 million in bonds through a financing arm, M-S-R Energy Authority, to support a 30-year natural gas purchase that will be shared by the trio. This is akin to other long-term group gas purchases by similar public-sector utility groups in Northern and Southern California in recent years.

Chief Oil & Gas LLC, which was the No. 2 natural gas producer in the Barnett Shale until it sold its leasehold three years ago, is taking on Canada’s Enerplus Resources Fund to help develop half a million acres in the Marcellus Shale.

Some companies saw substantial growth and others saw their numbers fall, but the total volume of natural gas sold in North America in 1Q2009 remained basically flat, falling less than 0.5 Bcf/d from the same period last year, according to NGI’s 1Q2009 Top North American Gas Marketers Ranking.

Some companies saw substantial growth and others saw their numbers fall, but the total volume of natural gas sold in North America in 1Q2009 remained basically flat, falling less than 0.5 Bcf/d from the same period last year, according to NGI’s 1Q2009 Top North American Gas Marketers Ranking.

With its abundant natural gas storage capacity, North America is viewed by many as a sink for liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes that can’t be sold in Asia or Europe. But now that new LNG liquefaction capacity is poised to come onstream later this year and next — in the midst of a global economic downturn — the industry is wondering where all the cargoes will go.

El Paso Corp. Wednesday sold $500 million of seven-year senior notes, a move designed to enhance the company’s ability to handle $1 billion of debt maturities that expire in May.

Northern Border Pipeline Co. has sold Bison Pipeline LLC to TransCanada Pipeline USA Ltd., setting the stage for a possible combination of the Bison Pipeline Project with TransCanada’s proposed Pathfinder Project in order to tap Rockies supplies for midwestern markets.

Northern Border Pipeline Co. has sold Bison Pipeline LLC to TransCanada Pipeline USA Ltd., setting the stage for a possible combination of the Bison Pipeline Project with TransCanada’s proposed Pathfinder Project in order to tap Rockies supplies for midwestern markets.

Kansas City, MO-based Inergy LP said its Arlington Storage Co. LLC (ASC) subsidiary has sold out the 5.7 Bcf in available capacity at its Thomas Corners natural gas storage project located in Steuben County, NY. The company filed at FERC in mid-March to convert the depleted Thomas Corners Field in the Town of Bath into an underground gas storage facility (see NGI, March 31).