Perhaps

Leading U.S.-based independent Devon Energy plans to launch a share buy-back program by next year and perhaps later this year if it can continue to pay down debt and continue with strong earnings, the CEO said this week.

Predictions of a late-winter storm expected to bring snow and sleet (“perhaps a lot in some locations,” according to The Weather Channel) to eastern parts of the South Thursday helped to generate small rallies at most eastern points Wednesday. Virtually all increases were less than a dime, while a few scattered points were flat to barely lower.

Perhaps emboldened with shakeups in corporate board rooms across the country, some Exxon Mobil Corp. shareholders have called for the roles of chairman and chief executive officer to be separated. Lee Raymond has held the dual roles since Exxon and Mobil merged in November 1999; he had held both roles at Exxon before the merger.

“If economic activity does not rebound and we have a warm winter, perhaps a price spike can be averted one more year, thanks to the storage overhang,” Peoples Energy Chairman Thomas Patrick predicted, but the overall trend is toward greater demand and declining supply.

“If economic activity does not rebound and we have a warm winter, perhaps a price spike can be averted one more year, thanks to the storage overhang,” Peoples Energy Chairman Thomas Patrick predicted, but the overall trend is toward greater demand and declining supply.

Energy officials and utilities in California are looking at continued low retail natural gas prices going into and perhaps through the winter, according to state officials, and the current projections of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. How low the prices may be is not projected, but everyone seems confident that there will be no repeat of last winter’s record price spikes amidst the state’s supply and creditworthiness crises.

Perhaps partially in response to recent customer protests (seeDaily GPI, Dec. 19, 2000 and Jan. 2), Northwest lifted Wednesday itsrealignment and must-flow OFOs through the Kemmerer (WY) CompressorStation but said it reserves the right to re-impose both OFOs upon 24hours’ notice. The pipeline said it determined that ending the orderswas feasible “as a result of more favorable pricing conditions,reduced northbound volumes and increased southbound volumes” throughKemmerer. The must-flow OFO was implemented Nov. 16 (see Daily GPI, Nov. 16, 2000) and had its originalrequirement of up to 10% of contract demand flowing south throughKemmerer revised several times. The realignment OFO was issued Nov. 10(see Daily GPI, Nov. 13, 2000).

As it continues to assuage concerned landowners and perhaps keepa positive image in front of regulators, Houston’s Coastal Corp.yesterday touted the benefits of its proposed Gulfstream NaturalGas System LLC affiliate, saying that the Florida pipeline willpump $1.2 billion into the Sunshine state’s economy, most of thatcoming during the construction phase.

The phrase “if you build it, they will come” sounds too ancientto describe the nascent e-commerce scene. Perhaps it’s moreappropriate to ask, “if everyone builds something, will they knowwhere to go?” The months ahead will see no dearth of online tradingoptions for energy and related properties, products and services asplayers scramble to create new sites or get on board existing ones.Among this week’s happenings: