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Dynegy said it sold 25 million shares of Class A common stock at $20.75 per share in an underwritten public offering related to the capital restructuring program announced on Monday (see Daily GPI, Dec. 18). Net proceeds from the sale totaled $494 million and will be used to reduce debt. Lehman Brothers acted as sole underwriter and retains a 10% over-allotment option for 30 days.

Cuba Wadlington Jr., president and CEO of Williams’ gas pipeline division and executive vice president of Williams, died Dec. 9 in Tulsa of complications related to cancer. He was 58. From 1995-99, Wadlington served as senior vice president and general manager of Williams’ Transco natural gas pipeline system. From 1988 to 1995, he served as senior vice president and general manager of Williams Western Pipeline Co, executive vice president of Kern River Gas Transmission Co. and director of Northwest Pipeline Corp. and Williams Western Pipeline, all affiliates or subsidiaries of Tulsa-based Williams.

Cuba Wadlington Jr., president and CEO of Williams’ gas pipeline division and executive vice president of Williams, died Sunday in Tulsa of complications related to cancer. He was 58. From 1995-99, Wadlington served as senior vice president and general manager of Williams’ Transco natural gas pipeline system. From 1988 to 1995, he served as senior vice president and general manager of Williams Western Pipeline Co, executive vice president of Kern River Gas Transmission Co. and director of Northwest Pipeline Corp. and Williams Western Pipeline, all affiliates or subsidiaries of Tulsa-based Williams.

UtiliCorp United filed information with the SEC related to its previously announced exchange offer for all of the outstanding publicly held Class A common shares of its 80%-owned subsidiary, Aquila, Inc. Aquila shareholders are being offered 0.6896 shares of UtiliCorp common stock in a tax-free exchange for each outstanding share of Aquila Class A common stock. “We strongly believe that greater shareholder value can be obtained by recombining the financial strength of UtiliCorp with Aquila’s growth strategy,” said UtiliCorp CEO Richard C. Green, Jr. “With its larger asset base, earnings potential and cash flow, the combined company will have more efficient access to capital to take advantage of opportunities we expect to materialize over the next 18 months.” The recent changes in the merchant energy sector, the general economy and the impact of these changes on the capital markets were significant factors in the decision to recombine the two companies, he added. The UtiliCorp exchange offer requires that at least a majority of Aquila’s Class A shares are tendered by Aquila stockholders other than UtiliCorp’s directors and executive officers, and this condition may not be waived. After successful completion of the exchange offer, UtiliCorp has committed to complete a “short-form” merger of Aquila with a UtiliCorp subsidiary. Following the completion of the short form merger UtiliCorp will adopt “Aquila” as its corporate name. Aquila is one of the largest wholesalers of electricity and natural gas in North America. UtiliCorp has total assets of about $11.9 billion and 12-month sales of $42.3 billion.

Dynegy Inc. has completed its acquisition of BG Storage Ltd. and its natural gas storage facilities and related assets in the United Kingdom, establishing the cornerstone of the Houston-based company’s European physical energy convergence presence. The deal includes 30 wells with five offshore platforms, nine salt caverns, about 19 miles of pipelines and an onshore natural gas processing terminal.

While the shock of the probable demise of Enron monopolized conversation in all trading rooms (see related story), swing prices continued to shoot higher Wednesday as winter storms raged through much of the nation’s midsection and parts of the West. Cold temperatures were prevalent almost everywhere except in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.

In tandem with heavy losses in the nearby crude oil and related products markets, natural gas futures shifted lower Wednesday as traders weighed the impact that fuel switching could have on prices this winter. The latest storage report from the American Gas Association (a 7 Bcf injection) rocked prices first lower and then higher, before the December contract finished the session back in the middle of the its daily trading range, down 4.4% at $2.676. December crude oil futures finished with an 8.6% loss at $19.80, its lowest close on a spot month basis since July 1999.

The $19.1 billion spending bill for the Interior Department and related agencies that was signed by President Bush last week has left some offshore industry officials optimistic that the administration may consider expanded leasing in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in the future.

The $19.1 billion spending bill for the Interior Department and related agencies that was signed by President Bush Monday has left some offshore industry officials optimistic that the administration may consider expanded leasing in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in the future.