Encana Corp (ECA.TO) is nearing a joint-venture agreement to develop its British Columbia shale gas assets and the deal will have a number of key differences from a failed arrangement with PetroChina (601857.SS), Encana's chief executive said on Wednesday. Several players are poring over confidential financial and operating data for Encana's Cutbank Ridge holdings in northeastern British Columbia, CEO Randy Eresman told an investment conference, and the company expects to announce a deal by yearend or in the first quarter of 2012. Unlike the failed $5.4 billion deal with PetroChina, which fell through in June after more than a year of talks, Encana is not involved in any discussions on an exclusive basis, Eresman said. "Now we basically have all of those players that you'd want to have in your data room in the data room," he added. "We now have a very broad mix of Asians, Americans, and Europeans (as potential partners)."
Shares of ECA traded higher by 2.83% or $0.67/share to $24.32. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $23.09 and as high as $35.22. On average, 4598350 shares of ECA exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3902106.
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