NGI All News Access

For Mitchell Energy & Development Corp., the news, it seems,just gets better and better. The Houston-based independent, whichless than a year ago had seriously considered selling its assets,reported last week that it has raised its year-end estimates ofproved natural gas reserves by 45% to 1,467 Bcf, and proved naturalgas liquids by 18% to 210 MM barrels.

It’s taken a little longer than expected, but on Friday, Cross Bay Pipeline Co. LLC of Houston fulfilled a two-year plus dream by filing an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to increase natural gas deliveries into the New York City metropolitan area by 125,000 Dth/d. The proposed project now has an in-service date of Dec. 1, 2002.

AES Corp. has set the table to take another big bite of theMidwest power generation market after agreeing to buy IPALCOEnterprises Inc. of Indiana for $3.04 billion in stock and assumeddebt. The Arlington, VA, power plant developer, which expects toclose the sale early in 2001, plans to build additional facilitiesin IPALCO’s Indiana territory and eventually begin sellingelectricity in the growing Chicago marketplace.

Duke Energy Field Services (DEFS) is planning on doublingnatural gas processing capacity at its Roggen plant northeast ofDenver because of an increase in gas production. The company willexpand its working capacity from 25 MMcf/d to 55 MMcf/d over thecourse of the next year. Natural gas liquids would rise from 2,100b/d to over 4,300 b/d the company said.

Burlington Resources Inc.’s management team took heat from investors and some analysts last week, after it reported on Thursday that its natural gas production for the second quarter of the year rose slightly compared with 1999, but still fell 7% from the first quarter of 2000. Burlington reported that its natural gas production for the entire year will be flat compared with last year, and said that its oil production probably will be 10% lower from a year ago.

Houston’s Apache Corp. remains in an acquiring mood, agreeinglast week to buy Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s offshore oil and gasinterests in the Gulf of Mexico for $385 million. The deal callsfor Apache to pay Occidental $341 million for the properties thisyear, then pay $11 million a year for the next four years. Closingis expected by mid-August.

After both projects received preliminary approval from FERC over a month ago, the ongoing race to Florida accross the Gulf of Mexico between Coastal Corp.’s Gulfstream Natural Gas System and Williams and Duke Energy’s Buccaneer pipeline is heating up again (see NGI, May 1). Gulfstream yesterday announced it signed a multi-million dollar deal with the Manatee County Port Authority for a permanent right-of-way easement to cross through Port Manatee

Drilling has picked up to a frenzied pace as active natural gasrig numbers continue to skyrocket in the United States and Canada.Rotary rigs drilling int he United States soared by 20 last week toa new record of 736 active gas drilling rigs, according to BakerHughes’ Rig Count report. Currently there are 235 more domesticrigs actively drilling than at the same time last year.

A bankruptcy judge in Atlanta, GA, put the proceedings againstTitan Energy on hold last week after the gas marketer notified thecourt that AES Power Direct, a retail power provider, had made anbid to purchase its assets.