Benefit

In a strategic move said to benefit both midstream energycompanies, CMS Field Services Inc. has swapped some of its naturalgas assets in Oklahoma and Kansas for some of Duke Energy FieldServices’ similar assets onshore and offshore Louisiana.

Hoping to benefit in both efficiency and cost savings, CompaqComputer Corp. inked an agreement with Enron Corp.’s Enron EnergyServices yesterday, a deal in which Enron will manage theelectricity, natural gas and energy-related management services forCompaq’s facilities in Texas, California and Massachusetts.Financial details for the five-year agreement were not disclosed.The deal between the two Houston-based corporations adds to thegrowing list of energy service management contracts Enron has inkedduring the past few years, which has ramped up this year. In earlySeptember, Enron Energy Services secured a 10-year $1 billionenergy management service agreement with Starwood Hotels andResorts Worldwide (see Daily GPI, Sept. 7). The energy services armof the marketing giant remains on track to reach its goal of $16billion in agreements this year, nearly double 1999’s total of $8.5billion. That’s up from $3.8 billion in energy agreements in 1998(see Daily GPI, May 31).

Petal Gas Storage L.L.C. has altered its proposal to beef up thedeliverability capacity of its storage facilities in Mississippi ina way that will benefit affiliates, such as Tennessee Gas Pipeline,at the expense of non-affiliates, say Amoco Production and AmocoEnergy Trading. Both companies urged FERC to reject it.

Higher oil and gas prices spurred industry leaders ExxonMobiland Chevron to large leaps in fourth quarter ’99 earnings over thedepressed 4Q 1998.

Reaching a 30 Tcf gas market will greatly benefit the nation’spower market, so it only makes sense that electric utilities shouldhelp the gas industry achieve that goal, said Thomas Kuhn,president of Edison Electric Institute (EEI). Kuhn, speakingyesterday at the Natural Gas Roundtable in Washington D.C., saidthe convergence between the industries has become such a force thatthe EEI, whose members generate and distribute roughlythree-fourths of the nation’s electricity, is planning to take amore active role in helping the gas industry meet its demand.