Double

With Energy Marketing & Trading (EMT) leading the way, Williams more than doubled the return on its energy businesses in the first quarter this year over last, recording results from continuing operations of $378.3 million or 78 cents per share, compared with a restated $138.9 million or 31 cents a share for 1Q 2000.

California softness was the exception to Monday price increases that were in double digits in most cases and continued a general rally that had begun on Friday. Sources attributed the upticks mostly to a further rise in futures, but acknowledged that a widespread warm-up that created some date-specific high temperature records over the weekend was starting to generate some “decent” air conditioning load, particularly in the South and mid-Atlantic.

First quarter profits for Tucson-based UniSource Energy Corp. are expected to come in well ahead of analysts’ estimates because of strong retail and wholesale sales by subsidiary Tucson Electric Power Co. TEP’s retail and wholesale sales rose 3% in January and 8% in February over a year ago.

In a week that saw it sign a 10-year supply deal with the stateof California, double its gas reserves with a billion-dollarCanadian acquisition and dip into the financial markets for morethan a billion, it seemed only fitting that San Jose, CA-basedCalpine Corp. should announce bullish earning results for 2000.

Calpine will more than double its natural gas reserves and gaina critical transportation link between the United States andwestern Canada after agreeing yesterday to pay $1.2 billion topurchase Calgary-based Encal Energy Ltd., whose core natural gasdrilling operations are in northeastern British Columbia and westcentral Alberta. Power producer Calpine plans a stock-for-stockexchange and would assume Encal’s debt.

While not plunging quite as steeply as the day before, pricesfor the weekend continued to record double-digit declines Friday.There was considerably more consistency across all markets than onThursday as virtually all points fell between 15 cents and about aquarter.

The huge price run-ups that had been predicted for Thursdaymaterialized on schedule with double-digit gains across the board.Most increases were 30 cents or greater, with citygate quotes forFlorida, Pacific Gas & Electric and several Northeast pointstouching on the high side of $6.

Gulf Canada Resources is expecting to more than double its dailygas production by swallowing rival Crestar Energy in aC$1.7-billion ($1.1-billion) friendly cash and stock transaction,excluding C$565 million in debt assumption. The combination willform a top-five Canadian independent production company with plentyof room to grow.

Gulf Canada Resources is expecting to more than double its daily gas production by swallowing rival Crestar Energy in a C$1.7-billion ($1.1-billion) friendly cash and stock transaction, excluding C$565 million in debt assumption. The combination will form a top-five Canadian independent production company with plenty of room to grow.