Tulsa

Pogo Producing Co. of Houston is growing its proven reserves by 13% through the acquisition of Latigo Petroleum Inc., a Tulsa-based producer focused on the western and panhandle areas of Texas.

Tulsa-based Williams reported on Tuesday that its net income for the fourth quarter of 2005 fell 10% from the company’s 4Q2004 report due to $64 million in litigation accruals to resolve legacy issues associated with natural gas price reporting and $61 million of impairment charges associated with two noncore equity investments. The company posted 4Q2005 net income of $66.8 million, or 11 cents per share on a diluted basis, compared with net income of $73.4 million, or 13 cents per share on a diluted basis, for 4Q2004.

Tulsa, OK-based Deep Rock Oil & Gas Inc. said this week that it has begun drilling the first well of a four-well project in Northern Oklahoma. The drilling is being done as part of the company’s efforts to develop its joint-venture pipeline with Dallas, TX-based Apollo Resources International Inc.

The acquisition of Koch’s natural gas liquids (NGL) business in July, coupled with higher prices, volumes and margins, lifted Tulsa-based Oneok Inc.’s third quarter earnings up significantly, with net income soaring to $184.5 million ($1.70/share) from $20.8 million (19 cents) in 3Q2004.

Tulsa-based Midstream Energy Services said it signed agreements to purchase the Keyes, OK, natural gas processing and treating plant, a 155-mile gathering system in Oklahoma and Colorado and a 38-mile helium pipeline in Kearny County, KS, from Nathaniel Energy Corp. and subsidiaries for $16.2 million. The Keyes Plant is a 12 MMcf/d propane refrigeration, cryogenic helium extraction, and amine treating plant that processes gas from several Oklahoma and Colorado gas fields, including the Keyes field in Cimarron and Texas Counties, OK. The Keyes field is one of the premier helium supplies in the country, and the Keyes Plant provides one of only nine liquefaction processes for helium in the United States, a commodity that trades for over $55/Mcf in unrefined form. “In an environment of rising commodity prices, these assets provide more than the traditional services that exist in the midstream sector by handling off-spec, high-nitrogen natural gas, helium extraction as well as traditional gas processing capabilities,” said Midstream President Jim Lind.

Tulsa-based Kaiser-Francis Oil Co. has joined SemGas L.P. as a partner in construction of the high-deliverability 6 Bcf Wyckoff Gas Storage project in Steuben County, NY. The companies said Kaiser-Francis purchased 49% stake in Wyckoff, which SemGas purchased from Falcon Storage earlier this year (see Daily GPI, Jan. 24). The storage project already has a FERC certificate.

Topeka, KS-based Western Resources Inc. said it is planning to sell its $960 million stake in Tulsa-based Oneok. Western subsidiary Westar Industries has engaged JP Morgan to advise it in the sale of 4.7 million shares of Oneok common stock and preferred stock that is convertible into 39.9 million additional shares of Oneok common stock, representing about 44.5% of total Oneok shares. Oneok is a midstream gas transporter in the Midcontinent region and the largest natural gas distributor in Kansas and Oklahoma, operating as Kansas Gas Service and Oklahoma Natural Gas, which serve 1.4 million customers. Western Resources has total assets of $6.6 billion, including security company Protection One and electric utility Westar Energy, which serves 640,000 customers in Kansas.

Tulsa, OK-based Matrix Service Co. said last Thursday that it and a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. have entered into an agreement with Bechtel Corp. to carry out the engineering and construction of three liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks for Cheniere Energy Inc’s LNG terminal that is under construction in Cameron Parish, LA.

Tulsa, OK-based Matrix Service Co. said Thursday that it and a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. have entered into an agreement with Bechtel Corp. to carry out the engineering and construction of three liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks for Cheniere Energy Inc’s LNG terminal that is under construction in Cameron Parish, LA.