Merger

The number of gas and power mergers and acquisitions across the globe fell sharply in 2003 to a historical low, but gas deals fared the worst, plummeting 91% in terms of total value, according to an annual report released Monday in London by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The number of gas and power mergers and acquisitions across the globe fell sharply in 2003 to a historical low, but gas deals fared the worst, plummeting 91% in terms of total value, according to an annual report released Monday in London by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Rumors of a possible Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) inquiry, credit ratings downgrades and dire analyst forecasts pummeled El Paso Corp.’s share price on Wednesday, the day after the Houston-based company revised its proved oil and gas reserves downward by 41%. By market’s close, El Paso shares had fallen more than 17%, down $1.55 to stand at $7.26.

Merger and acquisition activity in the electric utility industry is practically non-existent in the wake of the turmoil that has exposed the frail financial underpinnings of some companies, says the head of Dominion Resources Inc., one of the few power and natural gas companies to survive the industry upheaval intact and whose stock still remains in the double digits.

Coral Energy and Shell Trading U.S. are planning to co-locate their operations in Coral’s offices in downtown Houston. It is not a merger, a company spokesman said, and the units will not combine operations. Coral, which markets natural gas and power, and Shell Trading, which markets oil and products, will shed some of their combined 1,200-member workforce where there is redundancy. The cutback will be accomplished through voluntary actions, retirements, normal attrition, and relocations within the corporation.

One of the three-member Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), Jim Irvin, is being targeted, along with a former commission executive secretary, over their alleged roles in causing the failure of the proposed purchase of Las Vegas, NV-based Southwest Gas Corp., by Southern Union Co. Irvin was the star witness at the end of last week at an ongoing civil jury trial in Phoenix.

In its first quarterly financial report since EnCana Corp. was formed in April by the merger of PanCanadian and Alberta Energy Company, the company reported stable earnings and company officials predicted solid growth in the future despite the decline in commodity prices and current turmoil in the industry.

In its first quarterly financial report since EnCana Corp. was formed in April by the merger of PanCanadian and Alberta Energy Company, the company reported stable earnings and company officials predicted solid growth in the future despite the decline in commodity prices and current turmoil in the industry.

In its first quarterly financial report since EnCana Corp. was formed in April by the merger of PanCanadian and Alberta Energy Company, the company reported stable earnings and company officials predicted solid growth in the future despite the decline in commodity prices and current turmoil in the industry.