Boosted

Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp. reported a 5.6% increase in net income from a year earlier, boosted by strong production volumes and prices. The company handily beat Wall Street expectations, reporting net 1Q income was $393 million ($1.55/share), compared with $371 million ($1.45) last year. The earnings exceeded Wall Street’s best guess of $1.42/share.

In yet another record year that was spurred by its upstream operations, ExxonMobil Corp. boosted its fourth quarter income 63% over a year ago, reporting $6.65 billion ($1.01/share), an increase of $2.56 billion year-over-year. Excluding still-lingering merger effects, discontinued operations and special items, ExxonMobil’s earnings were up $630 million from 4Q2002.

Boosted by a weekly storage withdrawal (59 Bcf) that exceeded all market expectations, the natural gas futures market vaulted higher again Thursday morning, soaring past the important $6.00 mark. After pausing to trade sideways during the middle of the session, the January contract was goosed higher again in the final 90 minutes of trading Thursday.

Magnum Hunter Resources Inc. is escalating its drilling efforts in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) through the end of this year, and has boosted its 2003 capital budget by $50 million toward the effort.

Magnum Hunter Resources Inc. is escalating its drilling efforts in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) through the end of this year, and has boosted its 2003 capital budget by $50 million toward the effort.

Houston Exploration Co. boosted its proved reserves to 742 Bcfe after announcing last week that it would acquire the entire shallow-water Gulf of Mexico asset base of Transworld Exploration and Production Inc., which is 75% natural gas, for $155 million.

Patina Oil & Gas boosted its proved gas reserves 20% last week with the purchase Denver-based Cordillera Energy Partners LLC, which includes 235 Bcfe of proved reserves, for $240.5 million of cash plus five-year warrants to purchase 500,000 shares of Patina common stock at a price of $45 a share. Patina shares currently are valued at $35.17. Cordillera’s principal shareholder is EnCap Investments LP.

Patina Oil & Gas boosted its proved gas reserves 20% Monday with the purchase Denver-based Cordillera Energy Partners LLC, which includes 235 Bcfe of proved reserves, for $240.5 million of cash plus five-year warrants to purchase 500,000 shares of Patina common stock at a price of $45 a share. Patina shares currently are valued at $35.17. Cordillera’s principal shareholder is EnCap Investments LP.

More seasonable temperatures arriving in the Northeast and Midwest, along with what could be a tropical depression or storm due in the eastern Gulf Friday, provided all the ammunition that bulls needed to carry cash prices higher across the board Wednesday. Gains ranged from about a nickel to 20 cents and were distributed fairly evenly on a geographic basis.