OTTAWA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- One of Canada's most profitable oil and gas companies, EnCana Corp., said Monday it will pay 2.55 billion Canadian dollars (2.73 billion U.S. dollars) to buy out a partner's 50 percent stake in a fertile U.S. natural gas field.

    The Calgary-based company said it is buying the half interest in the Amoruso field held by privately owned Leor Energy, located in eastern Texas.

    EnCana president and chief executive Randy Eresman said the field, which produces more than 215 million gross cubic feet per day, is centered in one of the fastest-growing natural gas areas in North America, the Deep Bossier formation.

    "These assets are a seamless fit with our existing production and operations, and they hold tremendous growth potential in the near and longer term," Eresman said in a statement.

    EnCanada was formed in 2002 with the merger of PanCanadian Energy and Alberta Energy. In both 2003 and 2004 it was Canada's most profitable company, with approximately 3.5 billion U.S. dollars in profits on 12.2 billion U.S. dollars in revenue.