Tops

Wyoming led the way for mineral lease revenues in 2002 and will receive a check for nearly $387 million from the Minerals Management Service (MMS), which is distributing a total of almost $753.3 million to 33 U.S. states.

Swing prices exploded Monday in hyper-volatile trading featuring across-the-board multi-dollar gains, with Northeast quotes soaring to peaks of more than $30 in some cases and most Gulf Coast/Midcontinent/Midwest numbers averaging between $10 and $20. The spikes weren’t quite as spectacular in the West, but still impressive as the Rockies market soared to $6-8, Malin peaked at more than $10 and El Paso-Permian was quoted as high as $15.95.

Crediting higher commodity prices and oil sales volumes, independent producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp. on Friday reported fourth quarter and 2002 annual earnings that topped analysts’ projections for the company. For 2003 the company initially plans cap-ex spending below last year’s level, focusing on development and keeping its exploration powder dry until it sees how prices hold up.

Crediting higher commodity prices and oil sales volumes, independent producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp. on Friday reported fourth quarter and 2002 annual earnings that topped analysts’ projections for the company. For 2003 the company initially plans cap-ex spending below last year’s level, focusing on development and keeping its exploration powder dry until it sees how prices hold up.

BP, Conoco, Oneok, Reliant and Sempra topped Mastio & Co. 2002 gas marketer customer satisfaction ranking. The companies that showed the greatest improvement from 2001, Mastio said, were BP, Duke Energy, ExxonMobil and Sempra. However, of the 20 marketers in the 2001 customer satisfaction index, only 13 remained in 2002 and several of those have announced they are exiting the marketing business, Mastio noted in its statement on the ranking.

Alagasco, New Jersey Natural Gas, CenterPoint Energy-Minnegasco, Consumers Energy and Southern California Gas Co. ranked highest in their respective regions in J.D. Power and Associates’ latest customer satisfaction ranking.

Alagasco, New Jersey Natural Gas, CenterPoint Energy-Minnegasco, Consumers Energy and Southern California Gas Co. ranked highest in their respective regions in J.D. Power and Associates’ latest customer satisfaction ranking.

Last week’s market closed on a “relatively” sedate note Friday, at least relative to the preceding trading fireworks. But the downward price movement was still being measured in double digits in nearly all cases.

White Plains, NY-based Texaco, the number three energy major, achieved record second quarter income that exceeded analysts’ expectations, reporting Wednesday that it had income of $817 million, or $1.50 per share, compared with $614 million, or $1.17 per share, for the second quarter of 2000. Net income for the period was $784 million, or $1.44 per share.