Toll

The $4.3 billion tie-up of Linn Energy LLC and its LinnCo LLC unit with Berry Petroleum Co., announced Thursday, will create one of the largest exploration and production (E&P) companies in North America. The deal also is said to be the first-ever acquisition of a C-corporation by an upstream limited liability company (LLC) or master limited partnership (MLP).

Two high-ranking state oil/gas drilling officials were fired by California’s Gov. Jerry Brown for putting too many roadblocks in the state’s permitting process, it was reported Monday. The move brought immediate praise from the exploration/production (E&P) industry, which has increasingly been critical of what its leaders viewed as an overly arduous process for obtaining permits to drill new wells.

With shipper contracts expiring in 2015, Alliance Pipeline Ltd. plans to develop receipt and short-haul services that take advantage of the pipeline’s location near developing gas shale plays in British Columbia and North Dakota, Alliance said. The new offerings will complement the pipeline’s “bullet line” service from Western Canada to Chicago, as well as provide hub services such as the Natural Gas Exchange and the Alliance Chicago Exchange project.

The death toll from a Sunday explosion at a natural gas-fired power plant under construction in Middletown, CT, should stand at five, according to Middletown Mayor Sebastian Giuliano, who said everyone assigned to work at the blast site when the explosion occurred has been accounted for.

The death toll from a Sunday explosion at a natural gas-fired power plant under construction in Middletown, CT, should stand at five, according to Middletown Mayor Sebastian Giuliano, who said everyone assigned to work at the blast site when the explosion occurred has been accounted for.

Dismal gas prices and a charge for Rockies basis hedges took their toll on Questar Corp. in the first quarter, but CEO Keith Rattie said the company is “weathering the storm” as he looks to a Nymex forward curve that “remains in steep contango” and growing production that will be worth a lot more as the economy and gas market recover.

Dismal gas prices and a charge for Rockies basis hedges took their toll on Questar Corp. in the first quarter, but CEO Keith Rattie said the company is “weathering the storm” as he looks to a Nymex forward curve that “remains in steep contango” and growing production that will be worth a lot more as the economy and gas market recover.

TransCanada has reached a settlement agreement with its shippers on its 2005 Canadian mainline transportation toll structure. The new tolls, which still must be filed at the National Energy Board (NEB) and approved, contain no major surprises. They include a similar level of operation and maintenance expenses and depreciation costs as in 2004, and a 9.56% return on equity — as set by the NEB.

TransCanada has reached a settlement agreement with its shippers on its 2005 Canadian mainline transportation toll structure. The new tolls, which still must be filed at the National Energy Board (NEB) and approved, contain no major surprises. They include a similar level of operation and maintenance expenses and depreciation costs as in 2004, and a 9.56% return on equity — as set by the NEB.