M&A

The proposed merger of Royal Dutch Shell plc and BG Group divided the investment community on Friday after a global proxy advisory firm said it supports the deal despite low oil prices and a major shareholder group voiced its opposition.

WGL Holdings Inc. subsidiary Washington Gas Light Co. will submit a new plan to acquire upstream natural gas reserves for its Virginia customers, it said Monday.

Moody’s Investors Service’s liquidity stress index (LSI) for oil and gas rose to 19.6% in December from 19.3% in November as the rout in oil prices continued to take a toll on the industry.

Tallgrass Energy Partners LP is acquiring another 31.3% of Tallgrass Pony Express Pipeline LLC for $475 million in cash and 6.518 million Tallgrass Energy common units to be issued to Tallgrass Development.

General Electric (GE) continues to build its capabilities in the natural gas turbine market, announcing Monday it would buy privately held Metem Corp.

With the Federal Trade Commission granting antitrust approval to the transaction this week, Duke Energy Corp. is one step closer to completing its proposed acquisition of Piedmont Natural Gas, a move that signals the electric utility giant’s growing interest in natural gas.

Royal Dutch Shell plc has reduced its global capital spending by $2 billion to $33 billion in 2016 to deal with low commodity prices and prepare for the pending takeover of BG Group plc. It also slashed the value of the BG merger, first announced last April, by $17 billion.

Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Inc. said Tuesday they now are uncertain that their merger will be completed because a timing agreement with the antitrust division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is going to expire before reaching a settlement.

A combined Royal Dutch Shell plc and BG Group plc would have about 2,800 fewer workers after global workforce reductions, Shell said Monday, as the planned combination received its final pre-conditional regulatory approval.