M&A

Calgary-based AltaGas Ltd.’s U.S. unit has agreed to buy three natural gas-fired power plants in central California’s San Joaquin Valley — with a combined capacity of 523 MW — for $642 million.

Regulators with Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said they are concerned that Royal Dutch Shell plc’s proposal to purchase UK-based BG Group plc could lead to higher natural gas prices, and they have postponed a decision on whether to approve the merger for two months.

Balance sheet stress is intensifying in the U.S. natural gas and oil sector, which means more takeovers and asset sales are likely by the end of this year, researchers said Thursday.

Negotiations about a possible merger of America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) are said to be ongoing, according to several sources that work in the oil and gas industry and have knowledge of both organizations.

A quest for security as a regulated utility with stable income inspired a former Canadian government-owned power and gas corporation’s expansion into the United States.

Five prestigious U.S. universities could lose nearly $200 million in endowment money combined if they divest from securities associated with fossil fuels, according to a report commissioned and financed by the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA).

Regulators in Europe have approved Royal Dutch Shell plc’s proposal to spend almost $70 billion to buy UK-based BG Group plc, a deal that would create the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) company in the world.

Navitas Midstream Partners LLC has acquired natural gas gathering and processing assets in three Texas counties in the Midland Basin from a subsidiary of DCP Midstream LLC for an undisclosed sum.

Canadian-based Westport Innovations Inc. and New York City-based Fuel Systems Solutions Inc. are merging their respective alternative fuel equipment companies into a new entity, Westport Fuel Systems, headquartered in Vancouver, BC.