Boosted by its high-flying Internet site, Enron Corp. reportedyesterday that its second-quarter earnings rose 30% to $289million, with revenue from EnronOnline, the company’seight-month-old energy and commodity Internet trading site, rising92%. The site has handled transactions valued at more than $100billion, adding $6 billion to revenue in the first half, and isalready considered the largest Internet energy trader in the world.Net income rose to $289 million, or 34 cents, from $222 million, or27 cents, while revenue rose 75% to $16.89 billion from $9.67billion a year ago. Enron had been expected to make 32 cents ashare, based on analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial.Enron’s businesses reported its earnings as Wholesale EnergyOperations and Services, Retail Energy Services, Transportation andDistribution and Broadband Services. The wholesale group increased23% in the second quarter to $437 million. Retail energy reportedIBIT of $24 million compared to a $26 million loss in the sameperiod of 1999. The transportation group, which includes the gaspipeline group and Portland General Electric, reported earnings of$139 million compared with $128 million. The only loss was inbroadband services, which reported a loss of $8 million on revenueof $151 million.

El Paso Merchant Energy Co., a business unit of El Paso EnergyCorp., is expanding its commercial platform in the electric powerindustry with the formation of EP Power Finance LLC. It primarilywill focus on power and power-related opportunities in the NorthAmerican energy marketplace. The new unit will provide subordinateddebt and structured financial products to developers and acquirersof merchant power generation assets. The group will offer debtcapital with a higher risk/return profile for transactions thatrange from greenfield development projects to the acquisition ofmulti-asset generation portfolios. For information on the unit,visit El Paso Energy’s web site at www.epenergy.com.

Texaco has begun commercial production of oil and natural gasfrom its Petronius project in the Gulf of Mexico. The Petroniusplatform was completed in early May. Texaco is the operator, andTexaco and Marathon each have a 50% working interest. The projectis located in 1,754 feet of water in Viosca Knoll Block 786, about130 miles southeast of New Orleans. Current production from twopre-drilled wells is 8,700 b/d and 6 MMcf/d, and will be increasingas production ramp-up continues. An additional three pre-drilledwells will be brought on production over the next three months withrates going to 40,000 b/d and 35 MMcf/d by October 2000. More wellswill be drilled and brought on-line through the remainder of thisyear and into 2001, leading to peak production rates of 50,000 b/dand 70 MMcf/d.

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