Stellar

Canadian natural gas exporters are poised to chalk up a strong year of gains in both sales volumes and revenues, but doubts that the stellar performance will be repeated are spreading.

Canadian natural gas exporters are poised to chalk up a strong year of gains in both sales volumes and revenues, but doubts that the stellar performance will be repeated are spreading.

Stellar production growth from Bill Barrett Corp.’s (BBC) Uinta and Piceance basin properties — plus hedges placed on more than 60% of the gas output — helped the company escape relatively unscathed in 2Q2007 from low Rocky Mountain prices.

Stellar production growth from Bill Barrett Corp.’s (BBC) Uinta and Piceance basin properties — plus hedges placed on more than 60% of the gas output — helped the company escape relatively unscathed in 2Q2007 from low Rocky Mountain prices.

Producer earnings topped the charts last week, with most of the majors and leading independents with stellar profits. Most analysts, however, were not impressed because of lower production numbers among the majors. Many of the majors reported double digit earnings gains from a year ago: ExxonMobil Corp., 44%, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, 42%, Unocal, 69%, but they also reported less worldwide production across the board.

El Paso Corp. reported a less-than-stellar third quarter earnings report last week, continuing a long-term plan to get debt levels in check without starving its remaining core businesses. CEO Doug Foshee stressed that the company is on track to divest $3.4 billion of assets by the end of this year, but said that going forward, “we won’t be able to sell our way to prosperity. We have to grow our core businesses.”

It was not a very stellar week for Nymex natural gas bulls. After notching a new, three-month high and closing the previous week in fine form, natural gas futures entered last week poised to move higher. As it turns out, however, looks can be deceiving and the July contract was hit with a wave of negative price factors last week.

Even though its energy trading venture turned in a less-than-stellar performance over the past few months, investors shouldn’t take that to mean Entergy Corp. is ready to join the growing list of power companies throwing in the towel on energy trading. When the dust finally settles from the current market upheaval, Entergy CEO Wayne Leonard sees the company’s trading operations as well positioned to take advantage of a “much deeper space” expected in the sector after the current shakeout.

Alberta Energy Co. Ltd. , one of North America’s largestindependents, turned in a stellar performance in 2000, doublingcash flow and recording net earnings up five-fold, at the same timeit positioned itself for future gains, adding reserves equal to458% of production.