Rockpoint Gas Storage Inc.

substantially increased the number of shares it plans to sell in its

initial public offering

this week, lifting proceeds to as much as $704 million.

The Calgary, Alta.-based company, which is

Brookfield Asset Management’s

North American

natural gas storage platform

, is now marketing 32 million shares in the offering, according to a statement Monday, up from 22 million shares when it began pitching the deal last week. The price range is unchanged at $19 to $22 per share, the statement said.

At the top of that range, Rockpoint would command a

market value

of about $2.9 billion based on the outstanding shares referenced in the statement. Brookfield is expected to hold about 76 per cent of the voting power in Rockpoint after the listing.

The offering is well oversubscribed, with demand from Canadian and United States investors, and it’s on track to price late Wednesday, Bloomberg reported earlier on Monday.

Rockpoint’s public listing is driving hopes for a revival of Canada’s slow IPO market, as the listing would double the number of sizable first-time share sales

in Toronto

this year.

The independent pure-play

natural gas storage operator

is the largest in North America, with about 279 billion cubic feet of capacity in Canada and the U.S., according to the filing. Rockpoint’s facilities are located in Alberta and California, with 156 wells. Its customers include utility providers, power producers, pipeline companies and financial institutions, among others.

Rockpoint generated US$209 million of net income on US$415 million of revenue in the fiscal year ended March 31, compared with US$254 million in net income on US$349 million of revenue in the previous 12 months, the preliminary prospectus shows.

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Rockpoint’s offering is being led by Royal Bank of Canada and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The company expects to list on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol RGSI.

— With assistance from Monique Mulima.

Bloomberg.com