NGI Archives

El Paso Field Services entered the energy project financingarena with last week’s purchase of En Cap Investment Co. for $52million in cash and stock. Robert Phillips, El Paso Field Services’president, said all regulatory issues have been settled and thedeal will be accretive to El Paso’s earnings beginning April 1.

National Fuel Gas used a hearing in the Pennsylvania senate last week to voice its opposition to the state’s gas deregulation bill. It is the only LDC to oppose the bill so far.

Ocean Energy Inc. (OEI) announced two separate sales worth acombined $116 million and 164 Bcf of gas last week, as it carriedout a debt reduction plan aimed at preparing the company for itsmerger with Seagull Energy. OEI said shareholders for bothcompanies are holding special meetings March 30 to vote on themerger. If they vote in favor, the company will be officiallymerged that afternoon.

Legislation prescribing voluntary unbundling of Colorado’s gasdistribution industry has now gone to a state House appropriationscommittee. The sponsor of SB 153, Sen. David T. Owen, said heexpects it to pass with little or no trouble. Unlike legislationthat unbundled Georgia’s gas industry, the Colorado legislationdoes not delve into specifics of unbundling but rather leaves themup to the state Public Utility Commission (PUC).

Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) parent Unicom received about $1.76billion over book value last week in the largest divestiture yet ofa utility’s fossil-fueled power plants. Edison International’sindependent power subsidiary is buying 9,772 MW of ComEd’s coal-and gas-fired baseload and peaking plants for $5 billion.

The New Mexico Legislature passed a bill opening the state’sretail electric power market to competing suppliers beginning in2001. The bill, passed unanimously by the state House ofRepresentatives a week ago, goes to Gov. Gary Johnson, who wasexpected to sign it into law.

The Rocky Mountain Oil &amp Gas Association (RMOGA) has fallenprey to low commodity prices and industry belt-tightening justshort of its 80th anniversary. The trade group plans to shut itsdoors permanently June 1.

BP Amoco and the Williams Cos. announced last week they have reached a partial settlement with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, while leaving the key issues of their dispute to be determined in an upcoming Supreme Court case. The settlement released Williams and BP Amoco from all claims included in the Southern Utes’ lawsuit against them but did not address key ownership issues.

One year into electric deregulation, the benefits promisedconsumers by the California legislature have failed to materialize,making monopoly utilities the primary winners in the state’sderegulation game, according to San Francisco-based TURN, TheUtility Reform Network.