Centrica boosts upstream assets

1st Apr 2011 07:15

The North American spending spree of British Gas owner Centrica shows no sign of abating, with the company snapping up some Canadian gas assets.Centrica's North American subsidiary, Direct Energy, is paying C$47m (£30m) in cash to Shell Canada Energy for some natural gas assets located in the Wildcat Hills region of Alberta.The acquisition will give Direct Energy a 100% working interest in certain Wildcat Hills assets and gas processing facilities, which it has operated since October 2010.The acquisition will provide Direct Energy with an additional 45bn cubic feet equivalent of proven and probable natural gas reserves and should boost daily natural gas production by around 10m cubic feet.Once the transaction is complete the company will be able to meet around 35% of its enlarged customer gas demand from its own resources. Furthermore, the transaction will lower overall production costs as no additional field or office staffing will be required."Growing our upstream business is important in ensuring that we remain a stable, long-term partner to the millions of residential and business customers we serve across North America. We will continue to explore opportunities in both gas and power, to enhance the scale of the business and to support Direct Energy's expanding retail businesses," said Chris Weston, president and chief executive officer of Direct Energy.---jh