Also

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is gaining Gulf of Mexico sub-saltexploration rights through an agreement with Texaco Exploration andProduction Inc. Anadarko also just announced significantly improvedsecond quarter results and a nearly 60% boost to its currentcapital spending program.

Dallas-based Texas Utilities Co. is changing its name to TXU,which is also the company’s stock symbol. The action bringstogether divisions and subsidiaries, domestic and international,under one name. TU Electric/Lone Star Gas, the company’s largestdomestic operation, will be renamed TXU Electric & Gas.

Although the use of the pre-filing collaborative process inhydroelectric relicensing cases is still “too new” to determinewhether it would also work for gas pipeline projects, theDepartment of Interior says its supports FERC efforts to promote”pre-filing communications and consultations” with the agency andother stakeholders in the gas arena. However, it agreed withinterstate gas pipelines that participation in the collaborativeprocess should not be mandated.

Although the use of the pre-filing collaborative process inhydroelectric relicensing cases is still “too new” to determinewhether it would also work for gas pipeline projects, theDepartment of Interior says its supports FERC efforts to promote”pre-filing communications and consultations” with the agency andother stakeholders in the gas arena. However, it agreed withinterstate gas pipelines that participation in the collaborativeprocess should not be mandated.

While there’s much commercial and industrial customers likeabout gas unbundling, they still have complaints, according to arecent study. And while marketers are perceived to be moresensitive to customers’ wants and needs than LDCs, utilities arestill favored for gas supply by some.