Directors

The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) said Friday that the board of directors of Nymex Holdings has decided not to “currently” pursue a transaction with Parthenon Capital LLC, which sought to buy a controlling interest in the exchange.

ConocoPhillips’ board of directors on Thursday elected James J. Mulva, 58, to succeed Archie W. Dunham as chairman of the board when Dunham retires at the end of September. Mulva, who had been chairman and CEO of Phillips Petroleum Co. when it merged with Conoco, will retain his president and CEO titles.

A special committee of the board of directors of Houston-based Plains Resources Inc. on Wednesday rejected a revised merger offer from Leucadia National Corp. and said it would pursue a merger with its original suitor, an affiliate of Vulcan Capital.

Looking to step up its production to help meet natural gas demand, Energy Partners Ltd. (EPL) said Wednesday that its board of directors has approved a 16% increase in its 2004 exploration and development budget from $125 million to $145 million.

NiSource Inc. Monday debuted a new section of its internet Web site highlighting the company’s extensive corporate governance practices. The NiSource Board of Directors recently approved updated corporate governance guidelines, which are available via the company’s Web site along with NiSource’s code of ethics, business ethics program, biographies of the company’s board members and senior management, organizational documents, board committee membership and charters and other information. The company’s corporate governance guidelines define the systems and processes by which the company ensures appropriate accountability and openness in the conduct of its business. The information is available via the company’s home page, www.nisource.com in the Investor Relations section.

Stone Energy Corp., headquartered in Lafayette, LA, has elected David H. Welch as its new president and CEO and as a member of the board of directors, effective April 1. Current President and CEO D. Peter Canty is retiring, however, he will continue as a director. Welch, 55, began working at Amoco in 1978 and subsequently, at BP America Inc. where he most recently served as senior vice president responsible for all external affairs in North America. He also was president of BP Alaska Canada Gas, and was earlier president of BP’s Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Development and Production business. Canty’s association with Stone began in 1981 when he joined a predecessor company. He was the primary designer of the acquisition and exploitation strategy that has been responsible for the successful development and growth of Stone since its formation.

Kinder Morgan’s board of directors said Wednesday that they have approved expanding the company’s common stock repurchase program by $50 million to $500 million. Since the start of the program in August of 2001, Kinder Morgan has repurchased approximately $450 million, including $38 million this year. The company noted that the additional $50 million, the majority of which is expected to be used in 2004, is consistent with KMI’s previous share repurchase guidance given in May at the time it significantly increased the dividend. In response to federal tax legislation, Kinder Morgan increased its quarterly dividend to $0.40/share ($1.60 annualized) and expects to further increase its quarterly dividend to at least $0.50 per share ($2.00 annualized) in January 2004.

Harold N. (Hal) Kvisle was elected Friday as chairman of the board of directors of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) for 2004. Mr. Kvisle (pronounced “Quisley”) is the president and CEO of TransCanada Corp. and is the first Canadian national to chair INGAA. He succeeds Fred J. Fowler, president and COO of Duke Energy Corp., as INGAA chairman. Also Friday, INGAA elected its officers for 2004. Keith O. Rattie, president and CEO for Questar Corp. was elected first vice chairman. Paul D. Koonce, CEO for Transmission at Dominion Energy, Inc., was elected second vice chairman. INGAA represents virtually all of the interstate natural gas transmission pipeline companies operating in the United States, as well as comparable companies in Canada and Mexico. Its members transport over 95% of the United States’ natural gas through a network of 180,000 miles of pipelines.

The independent inspectors of El Paso Corp.’s annual shareholder meeting in June have certified that the incumbent board of directors’ nominees were re-elected, verifying earlier announcements by the Houston-based company.