Helped

David Tuer, the former CEO of PanCanadian Energy Corp., who helped lead the company toward its profitable spinoff as North America’s largest independent producer, is taking the reins of a small investor group to transform a bankrupt Calgary-based pharmaceutical research company into an oil and gas enterprise — with a particular focus on natural gas.

David Tuer, the former CEO of PanCanadian Energy Corp., who helped lead the company toward its profitable spinoff as North America’s largest independent producer, is taking the reins of a small investor group to transform a bankrupt Calgary-based pharmaceutical research company into an oil and gas enterprise — with a particular focus on natural gas.

Enron Power Marketing Inc. (EPMI) and Portland General Electric Inc. (PGE) jointly developed an arrangement that allowed EPMI to implement a scheme to create false congestion and to receive payment for relieving that congestion on California’s transmission lines, FERC staff said in a recent report filed with a Commission administrative law judge (ALJ).

Favorable weather and lower interest rates helped natural gas distributor NiSource Inc. reverse year-ago quarterly losses. The Merrillville, IN-based company, which serves 3.7 million natural gas and electric customers from the Gulf Coast through the Midwest to New England, reported 3Q net income of $23.2 million (11 cents a share), compared with a net loss of $21 million (minus 10 cents) for the same period of 2001.

Favorable weather and lower interest rates helped natural gas distributor NiSource Inc. reverse year-ago quarterly losses. The Merrillville, IN-based company, which serves 3.7 million natural gas and electric customers from the Gulf Coast through the Midwest to New England, reported third quarter net income of $23.2 million (11 cents a share), compared with a net loss of $21 million (minus 10 cents) for the same period of 2001.

First quarter earnings growth in Dominion Resources Inc.’s energy production unit helped to offset losses from lower power demand, the company reported last week, with operating earnings of $322 million ($1.20 a share) compared to $298 million ($1.20) for the same period of 2001. Dominion acknowledged earlier this month that gas hedges and the mild winter would cut into its earnings expectations, which Wall Street analysts had pegged a cent higher.

A moderate spreading of chillier weather helped keep most eastern points nearly flat, but ranging from about a nickel higher to a dime lower Tuesday. There was a mild bias to the slightly softer side. Meanwhile, despite a new storm moving into the generally sparsely populated upper regions of the West, softening by a nickel or more dominated there.

Wholesale power prices helped propel Southern Co.’s earnings up 5% in the second quarter, and company officials said the Southeast’s largest utility remains on target to meet its financial and operational goals for the year. Earnings were $270 million, or 40 cents a share, at the top of the analysts’ predictions for the quarter, up from $256 million, or 39 cents a share for the same period of 2000. Operations earnings from the quarter excluded Mirant, the company that completed its spin off to Southern’s shareholders April 2 (see NGI, Feb. 26).

High U.S. commodity prices helped lift BP Plc to a record quarterly profit. Tuesday, the company announced its first quarter adjusted replacement cost net profit before goodwill of $4.126 billion, up 52% from a year ago. However, BP, ranked third in the world, did not exceed its earnings forecast of $3.56-$4.23 billion — a feat accomplished by leaders Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch/Shell Group.