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After going on an acquisition binge over the past couple of years, Oklahoma City, OK-based Devon Energy Corp. has switched gears and plans to shed up to $1.5 billion in properties in North America and overseas to reduce its ballooning debt by mid-2002.

After going on an acquisition binge over the past couple of years, Oklahoma City, OK-based Devon Energy Corp. has switched gears and plans to shed up to $1.5 billion in properties in North America and overseas to reduce its ballooning debt by mid-2002.

A couple of sources thought Monday’s trading might have established a flexible template for much of October: softening at nearly all points that was fairly moderate at about a dime down, or less in most cases, and accomplished amid quiet activity. Fundamentals were still weak; although virtually all areas basked under sunny skies, temperatures are still mild to chilly everywhere except in the desert Southwest and the Florida peninsula.

Softening continued in the cash market Tuesday, but the rate of decline slowed down considerably. Only a couple of points fell by more than a dime, while most of the others dropped a little more than a nickel or less. Scattered points, mostly in the Rockies, were flat to marginally higher.

Despite some hints of moderating weather in a couple of areas, this week’s heat-based rally in the cash market continued Tuesday with some extra support from a dime-plus futures gain. A slight majority of points registered rises in the teens, but there was a big increase from Monday in the number of upticks between a nickel and a dime, indicating a slowdown of upward momentum.

Alleviating oversold conditions created on the move lower over the past couple weeks, natural gas futures rebounded strongly Tuesday, as traders covered shorts amid undeniably bullish technical conditions. After gapping higher at the open, a steady flow of buying propelled the market to its highest level since May 1. At the closing bell, June was 25.9 cents higher at $4.653.

Preparing the way for the Administration’s energy policyexpected in the next couple weeks, Energy Department SecretarySpencer Abraham warned a meeting of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce”the nation faces a major energy supply crisis over the next twodecades.”

Not all the action in Canadian natural gas fits the pattern thathas raised concerns over supplies for the next couple of heatingseasons -low-cost prairie drilling for quick hits of small reservesthat deplete rapidly.

After issuing several customer-specific high-linepack OFOs overthe last couple of months, Pacific Gas & Electric reverted to asystemwide Stage 2 OFO for Saturday’s gas day. The order carriedpenalties of $1/Dth for positive daily imbalances exceeding arelatively stringent 2% tolerance.