Conference

ConocoPhillips is negotiating to increase its share of Duke Energy Field Services to 50%, DEFS Chairman Jim Mogg said during an investors’ conference call Friday.

ConocoPhillips is negotiating to increase its share of Duke Energy Field Services to 50%, DEFS Chairman Jim Mogg said during an investors’ conference call Friday.

With little fanfare, following three conference calls over the course of the week, late Friday, Dallas-based TXU Corp. said it would increase its available cash by $2.6 billion by Monday or Tuesday, drawing upon its unsecured bank facilities at TXU US Holdings and TXU Energy.

Williams CEO Steve Malcolm said during a conference call with analysts Wednesday that despite the potential for $5 billion in asset sales this year, including the eight large assets still on the auction block, the company still will retain a major presence in the energy business, including a premier exploration and production operation in the Rocky Mountain region, a large midstream presence in the Rockies and Gulf Coast regions, 20,000 miles of interstate pipelines, a 54% stake in a profitable master limited energy partnership, and 60% of its former energy marketing and trading portfolio.

Speaking at an analyst conference last week in Houston, Exxon Mobil Corp. Chairman Lee R. Raymond remained pessimistic about the development of a natural gas pipeline through Alaska. Backing the results of a preliminary study by Exxon Mobil, Phillips Petroleum Co. and BP Plc, the three largest lease holders along the North Slope, he said the future of an Alaskan pipeline still remains a long shot, due to the nature of natural gas volatility along with the overall cost of the enormous project.

Speaking at an analyst conference Tuesday in Houston, Exxon Mobil Corp. Chairman Lee R. Raymond remained pessimistic about the development of a natural gas pipeline through Alaska. Backing the results of a preliminary study by Exxon Mobil, Phillips Petroleum Co. and BP Plc, the three largest lease holders along the North Slope, he said the future of an Alaskan pipeline still remains a long shot, due to the nature of natural gas volatility along with the overall cost of the enormous project.

Williams CEO Steve Malcolm said last week during a UBS Warburg energy conference in New York that his company plans to cut $50 million in annual expenses in an effort to strengthen its balance sheet and prepare for the possibility that it will have to assume all or a portion of the $2.2 billion in debt of its former communications subsidiary.

In a press conference originally set up to update the public about international affairs, President Bush said Friday that he had not had any contact with Enron Corp. officials since the bankruptcy filing, but said he was concerned about the city of Houston and the ex-Enron employees who had lost their “life savings” when the company declared bankruptcy.

Anadarko CEO Robert J. Allison, speaking at last week’s Rocky Mountain Natural Gas Strategy Conference, said he believes that in the long term, natural gas prices will stabilize in the $4-$6 Mcf range, although he noted that “$3 is still a pretty darn good gas price” in the overall scheme of things.