United

Thanks partly to decisions in the United States, Canadians areturning up the heat under hot drilling plays along the Albertafoothills of the Rocky Mountains and in northeastern BritishColumbia. Chevron Canada’s western exploration manager, LarryStewart, revealed to a session of financial analysts howAmerican-held hot prospects of filling expanding export pipelinesare being opened up to Canadian-owned firms.

Two producers-Husky Oil Ltd. and Renaissance Energy Ltd.- havejumped into the ranks of top 10 Canadian suppliers of natural gasto the United States, according to a scorecard kept by the U.S.Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy.

Two producers-Husky Oil Ltd. and Renaissance Energy Ltd.-havejumped into the ranks of top 10 Canadian suppliers of natural gasto the United States, says a scorecard kept by the U.S. Departmentof Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy.

A 66% jump in Canadian exports is conceivable-all the way to an18% share of the total gas market in the United States, theNational Energy Board says in a landmark forecast. A new NEBreport, Canadian Energy Supply and Demand to 2025, says exportscould climb to a peak of 5 Tcf/year in 2018 if prices andtechnology make gradual but steady improvements.

A 66% jump in Canadian exports is conceivable-all the way to an18% share of the total gas market in the United States, theNational Energy Board says in a landmark forecast. A new NEBreport, Canadian Energy Supply and Demand to 2025, says exportscould climb to a peak of 5 Tcf/year in 2018 if prices andtechnology make gradual but steady improvements.

UtiliCorp United added another Missouri-based utility to its recent acquisitions last week, buying Empire District Electric Co. in a stock and cash transaction valued at $800 million, including assumption of debt. The purchase comes only two months after UtiliCorp bought St. Joseph Light &Power for $270 million (see NGI, March 8).

UtiliCorp United and Empire District Electric Co. have announcedthey have signed a definitive agreement to merge the twoMissouri-based companies in a stock and cash transaction valued at$800 million, including the assumption of debt.

If the first quarter is any indication, Exxon and Mobil needeach other’s help. Exxon’s earnings dropped to $1.02 billion from$1.82 billion in 1Q99 while Mobil experienced a drop from $715million to $471 million. For the merging companies, the fall-offrepresents more than a 33% reduction in net income for each companyfrom the same period last year.

The United States didn’t see much of a winter, but you can holdonto your hats this summer because the hurricane season may blowyou away.