Centrica acquires Suncor’s gas assets for $360 million

British energy giant Centrica Plc has agreed to buy Canadian energy major Suncor Energy Inc's natural gas assets in the Wildcat Hills region of Alberta for approximately C$375 million ($360 million), further expanding its reach in the North American continent.

The acquisition will be effected through Centrica's wholly-owned North American subsidiary Direct Energy Marketing Limited in an all-cash deal, the company said in a statement.

Through the acquisition, Direct Energy will gain access to 97 gas producing wells, associated infrastructure, and 42,000 net acres of undeveloped land. The move would add 241 billion cubic feet equivalent (bcfe) of additional gas reserves, a 60-per cent increase over its current assets of 400 bcfe and about 80 million cfe per day of natural gas production.

Direct Energy is a leading supplier of electricity and natural gas products in Canada and the US. The company serves over 6 million customers in 10 Canadian provinces and 46 US states as well as Washington, D.C. It owns and operates 4,550 natural gas wells in Alberta and has three gas-fired power plants.

Centrica's chief executive Sam Laidlaw said: ''This transaction represents a further step in the delivery of Centrica's strategy for North America to build a larger, more vertically integrated energy business through acquiring assets with attractive returns.''

''We will continue to explore opportunities to secure further strategic gas and power assets in North America to enhance the scale of the business, and support Direct Energy's expanding retail energy businesses," he further stated.