Benefited

The Coastal Corp benefited from its mix of producer and pipelineoperations, announcing a 17% jump from 3Q 1997 on a per-sharebasis. Coastal earned $89.5 million, or 41 cents/share, compared to$80.4 million, or 35 cents/share in 3Q 1997. Along with earnings,the company reiterated its commitment to the North American gassector, calling it the best energy investment opportunity anywhere.