Robert

Anadarko Petroleum CEO Robert J. Allison Jr. said Friday that he expects the company to report record earnings this year after a major cost-cutting program, better-than-expected performance from exploration and production operations and higher realized commodity prices. The company also is raising its dividend 40% to 14 cents/share. APC shares were up about 1% Friday to $43.25.

The American Gas Association has elected Atmos Energy CEO Robert W. Best as its chairman for 2004. AGA’s other new officers include New Jersey Resources CEO Laurence Downes as the 2004 first vice chairman and DTE Energy COO Stephen Ewing at second vice chairman. Seven members also were elected to serve three-year terms on the AGA board: EnergySouth CEO John Davis, Avista Corp. CEO Gary Ely, TXU Gas President Michael McCall, Memphis Light Gas & Water CEO Herman Morris, Cinergy Corp. CEO James Rogers, Montana-Dakota Utilities CEO Ronald Tipton and Wisconsin Public Service CEO Larry Weyers. The AGA represents 191 local energy utility companies that deliver gas to 53 million homes throughout the United States.

The American Gas Association has elected Atmos Energy CEO Robert W. Best as its chairman for 2004. AGA’s other new officers include New Jersey Resources CEO Laurence Downes as the 2004 first vice chairman and DTE Energy COO Stephen Ewing at second vice chairman. Seven members also were elected to serve three-year terms on the AGA board: EnergySouth CEO John Davis, Avista Corp. CEO Gary Ely, TXU Gas President Michael McCall, Memphis Light Gas & Water CEO Herman Morris, Cinergy Corp. CEO James Rogers, Montana-Dakota Utilities CEO Ronald Tipton and Wisconsin Public Service CEO Larry Weyers. The AGA represents 191 local energy utility companies that deliver gas to 53 million homes throughout the United States.

Just in case someone hadn’t gotten the message, Ohio Gov. Robert Taft has issued an executive order, good through the end of his term in office in 2006, prohibiting the issuance of state permits to drill for oil and gas in Lake Erie.

Robert S. Boswell, architect of Forest Oil Corp.’s amazing growth as the independent increased its North American reserves five-fold and raised its equity value from less than $50 million to more than $1 billion in recent years, announced his resignation last week as CEO. He will retire as chairman and director at the end of September.

Robert S. Boswell, architect of Forest Oil Corp.’s amazing growth as the independent increased its North American reserves five-fold and raised its equity value from less than $50 million to more than $1 billion in recent years, announced Thursday he would resign as CEO immediately and retire as chairman and director at the end of September.

Following a year-long investigation, a Senate committee has cleared Robert Rubin, former Treasury Secretary and current Citigroup executive, and several other bankers of allegations that they acted illegally when they contacted government officials regarding Enron Corp. and its credit rating just weeks before the energy company filed for bankruptcy in December 2001.

Robert G. Phillips has been named chairman of the board of El Paso Energy Partners, at the same time El Paso Corp. Chairman William A. Wise, President H. Brent Austin, and another member of the corporation board, Malcolm Wallop, resigned from the partners board. El Paso Corp. is the general partner and owns 26% of El Paso Energy Partners. The company said the moves were “designed to align the partnership with certain corporate governance recommendations recently announced by the New York Stock Exchange. Phillips has been on the partners board since 1998.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week denied a request of U.S. Rep. Robert Filner (D-CA) to re-open the agency’s environmental review of the U.S. leg of the North Baja Pipeline to address the potential cross-border pollution from Mexican power plants that would be served by the natural gas line.