Pulled

Alberta Energy Company (AEC) has pulled the Manchester GasStorage Facility in Oklahoma out of the legal quagmire surroundingthe Mountain Energy bankruptcy. AEC subsidiary Salt Plains StorageInc. purchased Manchester, which is located in Grant County, OK,for $42 million last month.

Energy America pulled off a last minute coup in last Wednesday’sauction for bankrupt Georgia retail marketer Titan Energy’s gascustomers by outbidding Shell Energy Services with a price of $2.5million for 50,000 gas buyers. Energy America paid $44/customer, adollar more than Shell, plus the $7 per customer switching fee.

Energy America pulled off a last minute coup in Wednesday’sauction for bankrupt Georgia retail marketer Titan Energy’s gascustomers by outbidding Shell Energy Services with a price of $2.5million for 50,000 gas buyers. Energy America paid $44/customer, adollar more than Shell, plus the $7 per customer switching fee.

Someone pulled the plug on gas futures yesterday, but there’sstill plenty of water left in the tub. The July contract plunged42.5 cents but remained above $4 at $4.063.

NRG Energy Inc. pulled off a respectable first three days on theNew York Stock Exchange, as the independent power subsidiary ofNorthern States Power saw its initial public offering (IPO) closewell above its set price of $15 when the markets closed lastFriday. NRG opened at $15.88 on Wednesday, and closed on Friday at$17 1/4 on a volume of 913,000 shares.

NRG Energy Inc.pulled off a respectable first day on the New York Stock Exchange, asthe independent power subsidiary of Northern States Power saw itsinitial public offering (IPO) close well above its set price of$15. NRG opened at $15.88 and closed the day at $16.63 on a volume of8.1 million shares.

The incremental cash market pulled off a double play asexpected: following up the screen’s storage report-based spikeWednesday afternoon with across-the-board double-digit gains of itsown Thursday morning. It was almost like watching a replay from aweek earlier.

The cash market pulled out of its early-2000 slide at leastbriefly with a generally flat to slightly higher price performanceWednesday. However, sources found little but bearish indicators forthe near future.

Having pulled out of a stall caused by depressed commodityprices, Mitchell Energy & Development Corp. is flying rightagain with 12% return on equity in exploration and production, 15to 20% in gathering and 55 to 60% in natural gas liquids (NGLs),according to one analyst. For Chairman, CEO and gas and oilindustry veteran George P. Mitchell, 80, now might be the time tobail out.