据今日油价网站3月19日消息 加拿大退休金计划投资委员会（CPPIB）宣布，通过与美国独立能源公司威廉姆斯（Williams）成立38亿美元的合资企业，以扩大其美国页岩气业务。

这家新公司将是一家管道运营公司，专注于马塞勒斯和尤蒂卡页岩油气田，这是目前天然气生产中产量最高的气田。

促使该合资公司成立的交易涉及CPPIB以13.4亿美元收购威廉姆斯全资拥有的俄亥俄河谷中游管道系统35%的股份，威廉姆斯收购其合作伙伴Momentum中游的另一管道系统—尤蒂卡东俄亥俄中游管道系统。

一位CPPIB官员评论道：“这家合资企业将为CPPIB提供更多的机会，使其能够接触到具有吸引力的北美天然气市场，这与我们对能源转型的日益关注相一致。”

正如路透社在一份新闻报道中指出的，页岩气产区近年来钻探业蓬勃发展，这一点尤其明显，但管道产能一直难以跟上。

本月早些时候，这一行业板块又迎来了另一笔大交易：Equitrans Midstream公司以10.3亿美元的价格从摩根士丹利管理的基金手中收购了连接马塞勒斯和尤蒂卡的两条管道的多数股权。

随着对天然气需求的持续增长，以及产量的增加，将看到更多此类交易。与石油管道不同的是，至少在美国这一地区，天然气管道似乎不是行业和环保游说团体之间争论的问题，这使得随着钻探量的增加，这一领域的并购活动也逐渐增多。

然而，该地区的土地所有者反对管道建设商侵占土地。一些受影响的房主本月与美国最高法院联系，辩称能源公司滥用了征用权规则。

王磊 摘译自 今日油价

原文如下：

Canada Pension Fund Boosts U.S. Shale Presence with $3.8 Billion JV

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board announced it was expanding in U.S. shale gas through a US$3.8-billion joint venture with U.S. independent energy company Williams.

The new company will be a pipeline operation and will focus on the Marcellus and Utica shale plays, which are the most prolific in natural gas production.

The transactions leading to the establishment of the joint venture involve CPPIB buying a 35-percent stake in Williams’ wholly owned Ohio Valley Midstream pipeline system for US$1.34 billion and Williams buying out its partner Momentum Midstream in another pipeline system, the Utica East Ohio Midstream.

“This joint venture will provide CPPIB additional exposure to the attractive North American natural gas market, aligning with our growing focus on energy transition,” a CPPIB official commented, reflecting the rising interest in investments across the shale patch.

This has been particularly true in shale gas-producing regions where drilling has boomed in recent years, but pipeline capacity has been slow to catch up, as Reuters notes in a report on the news.

Earlier this month, this industry segment saw another large deal: Equitrans Midstream Corp. bought majority stakes in two pipelines connecting the Marcellus and Utica plays for US$1.03 billion from a Morgan Stanley-managed fund.

Chances are as demand for gas continues to rise and so does production in these prolific plays, we will see more deals of this kind. Unlike oil pipelines, it seems that gas pipeline at least in this part of the United States, are not such a matter of contention between the industry and the environmentalist lobby, which makes the segment ripe for M&A activity as drilling increases.

However, there is opposition from landowners in the area whose territory pipeline builders are encroaching on. A group of affected homeowners this month approachedthe U.S. Supreme Court arguing that energy companies were abusing the eminent domain rule.