Initiated

Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. Inc. initiated coverage ofHS Resources with a “buy” rating and a 12-month price target of $30based on expectations for strong summer gas prices. In a 16-pageresearch report, FBR senior research analyst David Khani identifiedHS as the dominant oil and gas producer in the Denver-Julesberg(D-J) Basin.

It’s about time everyone realized Coral Energy is a Shellaffiliate. The company initiated a corporate identity and brandingprogram yesterday supported by direct mail, Web-basedcommunications and advertisements in the Wall Street Journal, theHouston Chronicle and some trade magazines. It also has adopted anew logo design to signify its expanded commercial business andtransition from a joint venture company to a 100% affiliate ofShell’s global natural gas and power business. The logo nowincludes the Shell logo and says Coral is an affiliate of Shell.

Energy East Corp. has announced the successful completion of itsmerger with Connecticut Energy Corp., the first of four New Englandutility acquisitions initiated by the New York-based company in1999.

Northern Natural Gas extended a System Underrun Limitation orderfor all market-area zones through Monday. The SUL was initiatedTuesday to guard against excessive linepack (see Daily GPI, June 30).

Union Pacific Resources Group (UPR) closed on its acquisition ofNorcen Energy Resources. The companies’ boards approved the dealJan. 26. UPR initiated a tender offer for the 51.5% of Norcen’s stock not owned or controlled by Noranda Inc., a shareholder of49.5% Norcen common stock.