Best

Independent producer Apache Corp. reported the fourth quarter was its best period during 2002, with earnings up significantly from both the third quarter and the comparable 2001 period due to higher prices for natural gas and crude oil.

In a deal that Williams CEO Keith Bailey called “one of the best acquisitions” his company has ever made, the Houston-based pipeline operator/energy marketer snatched Barrett Resources Corp. from Royal Dutch/Shell Group’s mighty grasp on Monday for nearly $2.5 billion, beating back a hostile takeover attempt. Shell said it would not challenge the deal.

Natural gas bulls saved their best for last Friday, as they buoyed prices to a new two-week highs amid a combination of profit-taking and short-covering. After moving steadily higher throughout the session, the January contract spiked at the close to finish the week at $2.846, up an even 9 cents on the day and 27.8 cents above where the contract was the Friday before.

“Not with a bang, but a whimper” best describes the Senate demise of possible energy legislation this year. The vote was 94 to one Monday night to refuse to bring to a vote a diluted version of energy legislation passed earlier this year in the House.

Kansas City, MO-based UtiliCorp United Inc. has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for authorization “as soon as practicable” to re-acquire the nearly 20% interest in its natural gas and power marketer, Aquila Inc., that it sold to the public earlier in the year. Upon the completion of the transaction, the company plans to adopt Aquila as its corporate name possibly as early as the first quarter of 2002.

Bulls saved their best for last on Friday. After being held to an extremely-tight, 7-cent trading range throughout much of the session, natural gas futures shot high during the closing 75 minutes of trading in concert with a spike in the nearby crude oil pit. At the closing bell, June natural gas futures were up a modest 4.3 cents or 1% at $4.291. Comparatively, June crude was up an even dollar or a little over 3% at $29.91.

Several generators recently expressed a willingness to cooperate with FERC as the Commission mulls how best to gather data related to generator outages in California, but they also questioned why FERC is not casting a wider net to include data from investor-owned utilities (IOUs) in the state.

The best way to ease the burden of high natural gas costs is tolet producers produce and not overly regulate generators, industryofficials told the Texas Railroad Commission this week. The TRC,which is preparing recommendations on the state’s natural gasmarket, will hear testimony from stakeholders again Thursday beforefinalizing its recommendations for state legislators.

Williams CEO Keith Bailey thinks his company has the best ofboth worlds: a 90-year-plus energy heritage that keeps its approachto communications “firmly footed in the direct, no-nonsense style”of its founders, coupled with a e-business edge that keeps it”young thinking.” However, as important as e-business is, Baileysaid there are two other “E’s” as important: energy and education.