Houston

The chairman and CEO of Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.yesterday said his company had added “credibility to our southLouisiana exploration effort” by successfully completing its firstoperated exploration well on the Continental Land & Fur(CL&F) acreage in Terrebonne Parish, LA. Ray Seegmiller praisedthe success of the well, located on Cabot’s Augen prospect. TheCL&F No. 58-2 well drilled to a total depth of 13,100 feet andcompleted in 63 net feet of Bourg Sand. “We knew when we started2000 our drilling program in the Gulf Coast had significantpotential as evidenced by this most recent discovery,” Seegmillersaid.

Suncor Energy Inc. of Calgary said it will reposition its gasbusiness to achieve at least a 10% return on capital within fiveyears. Suncor intends to build competitive operating areas, improvebase business efficiency and create new, low-capital businesses.

Duke Energy of Houston is growing its Canadian presence througha gas marketing and asset optimization deal with Calgary-basedCanadian 88 Energy Corp. Duke is making a strategic investment inthe producer and will have an alliance to market gas production andoptimize gathering lines and about a dozen processing plants.Initially, Duke will be marketing about 100 MMcf/d of Canadian 88production.

Almost a year after it entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy,Houston-based TransTexas Gas Corp.’s reorganization plan tookeffect as the company arranged $52.5 million in exit financing.TransTexas amended its existing DIP Credit Agreement and RevolvingAccounts Receivable Credit Facility, cancelled existing securitiesand issued new securities. This is the final step in emergence fromChapter 11, which began April 19, 1999.

Pinnacle West Energy and Houston-based Reliant Energy PowerGeneration, Inc. announced a preliminary agreement last week tojointly develop power plant projects in the Southwest totaling morethan 2,500 MW of generation in Arizona and Nevada. A definitivedevelopment agreement on plant construction and operation isexpected to be signed within 120 days.

Pinnacle West Energy and Houston-based Reliant Energy PowerGeneration, Inc. announced yesterday an agreement to jointlydevelop power plant projects in the Southwest totaling more than2,500 MW of generation in Arizona and Nevada, Pinnacle West Energyannounced today.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. of Dallas, Mariner Energy Inc. ofHouston, CNG Producing Co. of New Orleans and Westport Oil and GasCo. participated in a deep-water Gulf of Mexico discovery on theDevil’s Tower Prospect in Mississippi Canyon 773, about 140 milessoutheast of New Orleans in 5,610 feet of water. A Pioneerspokesperson said the partners agreed to not disclose the type ofhydrocarbons discovered.

Houston-based Newfield Exploration Co. made David A. Trice CEOeffective today, replacing Joe B. Foster who resigned as CEO butwill remain as chairman and be involved with the company in anon-executive role. Foster, a director of Baker Hughes Inc. since1990, has been made interim CEO of that company in the wake of theresignation of Max L. Lukens. Foster resigned his Newfield positiontwo weeks ahead of the planned date of Feb. 15 to accept thetemporary post at Baker Hughes. Foster founded Newfield in 1989after serving as executive vice president of Tenneco Inc. andChairman of Tenneco Oil.

Year 2000 could be the year of the fuel cell on Wall Street asnext year is expected to see first commercialization of thetechnology on Main Street. While most consumers have yet to hear ofthe big gas-powered backyard batteries, investors certainly areaware.