Parker

Halliburton Co. has appointed Parker Drilling Co. CFO Christopher Weber as financial chief effective June 22. Weber, who has been Parker CFO for four years, previously was vice president/treasurer of Ensco plc, which he joined following its takeover of Pride International. Weber also previously worked with The Boston Consulting Group. He has a masters degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University. Halliburton’s former CFO Mark A. McCollum in April became CEO of Weatherford International plc. Parker Drilling has appointed Jon-Al Duplantier as interim CFO; he is senior vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel.

FERC told six California power suppliers Friday that they mustjustify $55 million worth of wholesale electricity sold duringStage Three emergencies in the month of February or pay refunds.

Duke Energy and Williams Gas Pipeline announced last Thursday that they closed the deal to buy the Gulfstream Natural Gas System project, a 743-mile natural gas pipeline planned for Florida, from The Coastal Corp. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

U.S. offshore production of natural gas fell slightly; thenumber of new pipeline projects in the Gulf of Mexico droppeddramatically; Texas — the nation’s leading gas producer — tookhits to its production and consumption levels; California andWyoming experienced a robust boost in production; California sawthe sharpest rise in gas demand; residential users enjoyed theirsecond straight year of lower delivered gas prices; and pipelineimport capacity expanded considerably.

The Senate Commerce Committee last week voted out pipelinesafety reauthorization legislation that the natural gas pipelineindustry has billed as a “gross overreaction” to an explosionbrought on by a rupture in a products pipeline last June.

Absent a showing of market support, the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission staff last week threatened to dismiss PetalGas Storage L.L.C.’s amended proposal in which it seeks to expandthe deliverability of its storage facilities in Mississippi.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week awarded PetalGas Storage L.L.C. a certificate to increase the total gas storagecapacity of its two caverns in Mississippi by 5.4 Bcf and workinggas capacity by 4.8 Bcf.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week proposedreinstating its authority to make well determinations so thatqualified producers can obtain Section 29 tax credits for high-costgas wells that were drilled prior to 1993.

Some of the “most pronounced” turnback activity for long-termfirm capacity can be expected to occur this year, next year and in2004, according to an analysis of the pipeline transportationmarket issued by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) lastweek.