October Newsreel: Energy Transfer Completes Texas Independence Pipeline; Equitable Gas Top in Customer Service and More

In the near term, EQT plans to start an open season to gauge other gas producers' interest in its planned expanded capacity on Equitrans. The project eventually could cost $650-750 million and run through 2013 or longer. A major advantage of Equitrans is that it's an existing pipeline that wouldn't need land acquisitions or a lengthy permitting process -- and it already connects to five major interstate pipelines run by other companies.

Baker Hughes Acquires BJ Services For $5.5 Billion
Oil field services company Baker Hughes has agreed to buy rival BJ Services Company in a cash-and-stock deal worth $5.5 billion. Baker Hughes CEO Chad Deaton said the purchase would allow it to expand internationally and compete for projects with companies engaged in all phases of the oil business.

The deal is expected to produce $75 million in cost savings for Baker Hughes in 2010 and $150 million in 2011, and add to earnings per share in 2011, the company said. Deaton said the transaction would assist customers with unconventional gas and deepwater fields.

“It will better position us to drive international growth and to compete for the growing large integrated projects by incorporating pressure pumping into our product offering,” Deaton said. Pressure pumping comprised less than 1% of Baker Hughes’s 2008 revenue, but is now expected to account for 20% of revenue.

Major Oil discovery Reported In Gulf Of Mexico
A huge discovery in the Gulf of Mexico that may contain more than 3 billion barrels of oil was reported Sept. 2 in the deep waters of Keathley Canyon, about 250 miles southeast of Texas. The discovery was made by BP, head of a consortium that includes Petrobras America and ConocoPhillips. The discovery was made in well Tiber-1 at a depth of 1,260 meters. BP as the operator holds a 62% share followed by Petrobras America with 20% and ConocoPhillips with 18%.

The Tiber-1 well reached a total depth of 10,685 meters, the deepest well ever drilled by the oil industry. Several oil-bearing reservoirs were found in the Lower Tertiary trend. The discovery is likely to rank as one of the biggest ever in the Gulf of Mexico although industry sources say that it will probably take at least a decade before the oil can be recovered.

Quanta Services To Acquire Leading Pipeline Infrastructure Service Provider
Quanta Services Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire privately held Price Gregory Services Inc. in a cash and stock transaction valued at $350 million.

“The acquisition of Price Gregory is a strategic move that will significantly expand the scale and scope of Quanta’s existing natural gas operations. We are confident that the additional resources, expertise and client relationships that Price Gregory brings will support our efforts to capture attractive opportunities in the natural gas pipeline infrastructure market, which is projected to grow significantly in the next decade and beyond,” said John R. Colson, chairman and CEO of Quanta.

Price Gregory was formed on Jan. 31, 2008 through the combination of H.C. Price Company and Gregory & Cook Construction, Inc. With roots dating back to the 1920s, the companies have played a significant role in the build out of the transmission pipeline infrastructure across the U.S.