Terminating

Columbia Gas said it was terminating Tuesday morning the declaration of a force majeure and OFO for Operating Areas 1, 4 and 10 that had resulted Monday afternoon from “operational events beyond its control” at the Strasburg (VA) and Seneca (WV) compressor stations.

Oklahoma City-based independent Devon Energy Corp. is selling its oil and natural gas assets in Egypt and is terminating all of its operations there. The assets, which Devon obtained when it purchased Ocean Energy in 2003, will help the producer focus more of its exploration efforts in North America. The company’s production from Egypt is currently 5,000 boe/d, and the operations represent less than 1% of Devon’s company-wide production and proved reserves. No estimated sales price was disclosed. “Our decision to exit Egypt is primarily a matter of focus,” said Stephen J. Hadden, senior vice president, exploration and production. “Devon’s strategy continues to be to concentrate our resources in areas that can provide meaningful future growth in company-wide production and value. Although we have established a solid production base and hold a sizable suite of exploration opportunities in Egypt, we believe we can redeploy our resources from Egypt to projects in and outside North America that better fit our focused growth strategy. The sale process will be managed by Scotia Waterous. Data rooms for interested buyers will be opened in Houston and London in December. Acceptance of bids and completion of a purchase and sale agreement are expected in 1Q2007.

Oklahoma City-based independent Devon Energy Corp. is selling its oil and natural gas assets in Egypt and is terminating all of its operations there. The assets, which Devon obtained when it purchased Ocean Energy in 2003, will help the producer focus more of its exploration efforts in North America.

Dynegy Inc.’s founder and former CEO Chuck Watson has received $22 million in exchange for terminating his severance claims, the company said Wednesday in a Securities and Exchange filing (SEC). Watson, who had been seeking $28.7 million, resigned in May 2002 following a disastrous merger attempt with Enron Corp. (see Daily GPI, May 29, 2002).

With the April futures contract terminating with a whimper instead of a wail, market-watchers were forced to turn their attention Monday to other things such as the current natural gas storage situation, including estimates for this week’s report. The April futures contract closed its doors for good Monday at $5.365, down only three cents on the day. Of more significance, the contract’s trading range for the session was incredibly tight at just 5.5 cents.

In a mutual agreement, Williams is terminating the sale of some of its South Texas natural gas transmission lines to Enbridge Energy Partners LP, a deal originally set in October 2001. The South Texas system includes unregulated gathering systems and 492 miles of FERC-regulated pipelines. The two regulated pipelines extend from the Texas-Mexico border near Laredo and McAllen, TX, to Transco Station 30, where they connect with Williams’ Transco mainline.

Aquila Inc. and Cogentrix Energy Inc. on Friday jointly agreed to terminate an agreement under which Aquila was to acquire Cogentrix. Both companies said that the “current uncertainty of the electric power market made proceeding with the transaction impractical and not in either company’s best interest.” The transaction between Aquila and the Charlotte, NC-based company was announced in April (see NGI, May 6). Aquila said it did not consider the termination part of its “ongoing efforts” to sell $1 billion in non-strategic assets.

Enron’s announcement last week that it will be terminating itsresidential power marketing efforts in several states should be awake up call for the gas industry as well, where the pace of changetoward retail competition has been a disappointment for manyobservers.