Subject: how engage will be split upon merger of el paso and coastal
westcoast , coastal split engage energy assets
to prepare for el paso energy ' s looming takeover of coastal corp . , westcoast
energy inc . and coastal are splitting up engage energy , their three - year - old
marketing venture , with each retaining a half interest in the houston - based
gas marketer . the split should be completed by the end of the week .
coastal , headquartered in houston , will merge with el paso energy in a $ 16
billion deal by the end of the fourth quarter ( see daily gpi , jan . 19 ) , and
company officials said that several transactions needed to be completed
before the merger could be finalized , including dismantling the engage
venture . vancouver - based westcoast and coastal each own 50 % interest in
engage , which has 12 regional offices throughout north america and employs
300 . one of the top north american gas marketers , it purchases natural gas
from every producing basin in north america , and trades electricity within
all nerc regions . engage estimates it will add another 1 bcf / d to its natural
gas deliverability by the end of this year .
ngi ranked engage in 12 th place in its 1999 north american power marketers
list , dropping from eighth place in 1998 , losing about 15 . 2 % in sales . engage
reported a sales volume of 5 . 6 bcf / d last year , compared with 6 . 6 bcf / d the
previous year . it sold an estimated 2 , 100 bcf of natural gas in 1999 .
westcoast and coastal formed engage in 1997 to offer a full spectrum of
energy services , including natural gas marketing and trading , electricity
trading and sales , energy management services , structured storage and
transportation - related services , structured power and management services and
energy risk management services . the companies said that those services would
continue as before . there is expected to be little impact on either company ' s
existing asset valuation .
under the restructuring plan , westcoast will retain the engage canadian
business entity and certain natural gas and power activities in the united
states . westcoast also will retain the right to use the engage energy name
and will continue to conduct business from calgary , southfield , mi and other
u . s . locations . coastal will retain the u . s . business entity , with
headquarters in houston .
" by taking full ownership of our natural gas and electricity marketing and
trading functions , we can better capitalize on the knowledge , experience ,
track record and infrastructure that we have built over the past three
years , " said michael phelps , westcoast ceo .
when coastal merges with el paso , it will be joining a company that already
has a strong gas marketing arm . ngi ranked el paso seventh on its list of gas
marketers in 1999 , noting that it traded 6 . 7 bcf / d of natural gas last year .
it also was ranked seventh in 1998 .