Quadrupled

U.S. dependence on Canadian gas has quadrupled since the 1970sand is expected to grow even further over the next decade, butthere’s no danger the country will be to the domestic gas marketwhat the Middle East has come to mean to the U.S. crude oil market,a Canadian pipeline executive said.

Not only has the gas industry seen a surge in mergers, the valueof gas mergers and acquisitions has nearly quadrupled in thisdecade from $10.4 billion in 1990 to $39 billion in 1997, accordingto the Energy Information Administration.