Chopping

After chopping its power marketing staff in half this summer (see Power Market Today, June 24), Boise-based IDACORP Inc. on Tuesday decided to throw in the towel on natural gas marketing. The company also said it will terminate efforts to pursue a midstream natural gas development business. It will exit natural gas trading operations by the end of the first quarter of 2003, affecting a small Houston staff.

TransCanada kept the chopping block busy last week with thefinalizing of its U.S. midstream asset sale to the Coastal Corp. The$26 million transaction was originally revealed in November (see DailyGPI, Nov. 24) and completely exitsTransCanada from the U.S. midstream business.

Chevron and Arco both said yesterday they will be chopping $500million from their costs for 1999. “To successfully weather thebusiness conditions of low crude oil, natural gas and commoditychemicals prices, we have to continue to find ways to minimize thecost of operating our business,” said Ken Derr, Chevron’s CEO.

Amerada Hess Corp. announced it will be chopping capitalexpenditures by $900 million next year from the $1.45 billion spentthis year. It also plans to reduce its exploration and productionwork force by 400 positions, a 20% reduction in the U.S. and theU.K., resulting in $18 million in annual savings after taxes.