Subsidiaries

Atlas Resource Partners LP (ARP) has entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with subsidiaries of Canada’s Equal Energy Ltd. in the core area of the Mississippian Lime, a formation in Oklahoma and Kansas rich in oil and natural gas liquids (NGL).

Dallas-based J-W Energy Co. said it is consolidating midstream activities currently conducted by subsidiaries J-W Gathering Co., J-W Pipeline Co. and Q-West Energy Co. into a single subsidiary, J-W Midstream Co. The goal of the new subsidiary is to expand J-W Energy’s presence as a full-service provider of midstream services to the upstream natural gas sector. J-W Midstream operates more than 400 miles of natural gas pipeline systems in Louisiana, Texas and Wyoming, and has the capacity to gather and treat more than 600 MMcf/d at 17 facilities, the company said.

Exploration for oil and natural gas is to begin as early as this summer well beyond the Arctic Circle by Canadian subsidiaries of Statoil SA and Chevron Corp.

Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp.’s two utility subsidiaries have filed with Wyoming regulators for authorization to build a natural gas-fired power plant in Cheyenne that would include both a peaking and combined-cycle baseload unit. Black Hills Power and Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power asked the Wyoming Public Service Commission (PSC) for permission to build the $237 million complex to provide 37 MW of simple-cycle peaking capacity and a separate 95 MW of combined-cycle capacity. Cheyenne Light would own and operate the peaking unit, and the two utilities would jointly own and operate the baseload facility with Black Hills Power owning the majority (55 MW).

Several BP plc subsidiaries have agreed to pay the United States $20.5 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly underpaying royalties for natural gas produced on federal and American Indian leases, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Friday.

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.

Marathon Oil Corp. has agreed to pay $3.5 billion to acquire the Eagle Ford Shale assets of Hilcorp Resources Holdings LP. Along with other transactions expected to close by the end of this year, Marathon’s Eagle Ford position is expected to more than double to 285,000 net acres, the company said.

A unit of Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) has agreed to buy producing and undeveloped assets from Canadian subsidiaries of Hunt Oil Co. of Dallas for C$525 million (US$521 million).

A unit of Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) has agreed to buy producing and undeveloped assets from Canadian subsidiaries of Hunt Oil Co. of Dallas for C$525 million (US$521 million).