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Higher interest expenses and new costs related to a fiber opticsproject sent third quarter earnings for Columbia Energy Groupdownward, failing to measure up forecasts by First Call/ThomsonFinancial analysts, who had expected higher earnings. Herndon,VA-based Columbia reported income of $19.5 million, or 24 cents pershare, with analysts forecasting earnings of 29 cents per share.

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline and Algonquin GasTransmission have filed applications with FERC to build relatedpipeline expansions designed to provide Maritimes shippers with agrowing market in the Boston area and to allow multiple new andexisting Algonquin customers access to a new supply source.

The market quieted down Friday as the weather-related excitementof last week receded. Eastern points, still just the teensiest bitnervous about the former Tropical Storm Helene and getting a bitchillier in northern market areas, ranged from flat to about anickel lower in most cases.

Independent oil and gas operator Central Resources entered intotwo definitive sale agreements to sell specific oil and gasproperties and related facilities located in West Texas, themid-continent and Rockies areas, the four corners area and alongthe Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast. Total proceedsfrom the sale are estimated at $70 million. Denver-based CentralResources CEO Paul Zecchi said the company will use the cashproceeds on “future acquisition and development opportunities”domestically as well as internationally. The sale transactions wereeffective on June 1, and are expected to be completed inmid-to-late September.

Weather-related demand remains somewhat meager, but the cashmarket found more than enough support Monday from superchargedenergy futures contracts and Atlantic storm activity to realizegains of about a dime or greater at nearly every point.

As another emergency step related to summer peak electricdemand, San Diego Gas & Electric asked state regulators lastweek for some relief on its natural gas transmission system byallowing the intermittent switching to oil of two major naturalgas-fired power plants serving SDG&E customers.

A House subcommittee last week passed a resolution citing threemembers of a public watchdog group for refusing to respond toquestions about payments it allegedly made to two federal officialsinvolved in oil royalty policy.

After a two-year delay because of computer snafus related tobilling, East Ohio Gas finally is preparing to join the state’s twoother major gas distribution companies in offering customer choiceacross its entire system. It also has agreed to stop sellingnatural gas entirely by 2004.

In the immortal words of baseball great Yogi Berra: “It’s déjàvu all over again!” A week after a smaller-than-expected storageinjection sent gas futures soaring by about a quarter, theoccurrence was repeated Wednesday afternoon. And just as thatprompted cash numbers to do their own skyrocket act last Thursday,so did sources predict similar fireworks in this morning’s action.