KeySpan Corp., Brooklyn, NY, said Monday it is buying Gulf Canada Resources Ltd.'s 50% interest in Gulf Midstream Services (GMS), making KeySpan the sole owner of the midstream services company.
The company will be renamed KeySpan Energy Canada (KES). The sale price was not disclosed.
KeySpan is acquiring the interest through KeySpan Energy Development Corp. KeySpan acquired its initial 50% interest in GMS from Gulf Canada in December 1998 (OGJ, Nov. 9, 1998, p. 42).
"This transaction allows us to consolidate our control in this leading midstream business," said Robert B. Catell, KeySpan's chairman and CEO. "By doing so, we can now pursue our own strategies for the company," Catell added, noting that KeySpan's activities in the Western Canada basin have proven very successful.
Gulf Canada President and CEO Dick Auchinleck said the sale would allow Gulf Canada to focus on oil and gas exploration and production. Auchinleck said the Gulf Canada had said several months ago it would sell the interest. He said it also marks the end of Gulf Canada's program of asset disposals to restructure its balance sheet. "We will retain a strategic link with KEC and have established priority processing provisions for Gulf's gas at their facilities," he added.
KEC offers natural gas marketers and producers in western Canada a range of midstream services. The company's assets include interests in 14 processing plants and associated gathering systems with capacity to process more than 1.5 bcfd of natural gas. KEC also owns natural gas liquids facilities in Edmonton, a major natural gas liquids hub.
