TranCanada continued its divestiture program yesterday byreaching an agreement with GDF International, a subsidiary of Gazde France, to sell its Netherlands assets for about C$501 million.TransCanada also expects to see almost C$51 million in proceedsfrom the assets’ activity during the first half of 2000.

TransCanada owes approximately C$270 million through a deferredpayment and a loan on the original purchase of the Netherlandsassets in 1998.

The sale of the assets include all of the outstanding shares oftwo TransCanada subsidiaries, TransCanada International (Europe),and TransCanada International Petroleum (UK). The companies controlinterests in seven offshore gas producing licenses as well as anoffshore gas pipeline system and a gas treatment plant in the Dutchsector of the North Sea.

The sale of the Netherlands assets keeps in line with TransCanadaCEO Doug Baldwin’s $3 billion divestiture plan. The plan, which isalmost completed now, involves getting out of non-core businesses tofree up capital to pay off debt. The troubled company has beenfollowing its divestiture program for almost a year (see Daily GPI, Dec. 9, 1999). Over the last few monthsTransCanada and its subsidiaries have been selling assets off rightand left.

In early July, TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. sold Northridge PetroleumMarketing Ltd. (NPML) to CXY Energy Marketing, a subsidiary ofCanadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd., for $40 million (see Daily GPI, July 12).

TransCanada PipeLines sold a 49% interest in the Tuscarora GasTransmission Co. to TC PipeLines, LP for C$28 million two weekslater. TransCanada will retain a 1% interest in Tuscarora through itssubsidiary, TCPL Tuscarora Ltd (see Daily GPI, July 21). TransCanada PipeLines alsounloaded most of its remaining ownership interests in natural gasliquids (NGL), extraction facilities and one processing plant to theWilliams Companies (see Daily GPI, Aug.4).

“We are pleased with the proceeds to be realized from this sale,which are in line with our expectations,” said Baldwin. “Since lastDecember, TransCanada has already sold or has agreements to sellapproximately $2.8 billion of non-core assets.”

The company still would like to sell the remainder of itsnatural gas liquids extraction, gathering and processing assets.Cancarb Limited, a thermal carbon black manufacturing business, hasinterests in the Express System and several assets located in LatinAmerica.

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