Warns

KN Energy warned investors last week that warm temperatures,high storage levels, poor processing margins and reduced gastransportation throughput during the first quarter took a bite outof earnings and could continue to plague the company for the restof the year.

KN Energy warned investors yesterday warm temperatures, highstorage levels, poor processing margins and reduced gastransportation throughput during the first quarter took a bite outof earnings and could continue to plague the company for the restof the year.

Don’t get sick of merger-mania quite yet, warns All Star Oilanalyst Fadel Gheit. Burlington Resources is leading the next waveof attractive independent oil and gas producers that are ripe fortakeover, he claims.

Walter Higgins, CEO of AGL Resources Inc., stood and faced themusic recently at the annual shareholders meeting in Atlanta asstock owners voiced their opinions concerning AGL Resources’subsidiary Atlanta Gas Light’s (AGL) over-billing controversy. Thecompany’s earnings did nothing to ease shareholders’ pain. AGLResources’ revenues for this quarter were down $75.2 million from1997 to $323.9 million. Operating margins fell from $145.1 millionin the year-ago quarter to $136.9 million for the quarter endedDec. 31. Weather and poor results stemming from the company’spartnership with Sonat caused the poor performance.

Allowing interstate gas pipelines to sell capacity atmarket-based rates, without first requiring a showing of acompetitive market or mitigation measures, could set the stage formore allegedly “anticompetitive” contract arrangements betweenpipes and marketers – similar to the one between Dynegy Marketingand Trade and El Paso Natural Gas, warned California regulators.

Williams Chairman Keith E. Bailey said Tuesday the company’sunaudited third quarter financials, which are expected to bereleased today, will include $70 million, or 10 cents per share, inpre-tax charges and write-downs.

In preparing to meet an anticipated 30-32 Tcf market in the next10-12 years, the gas industry should build only the amount ofpipeline capacity that’s needed when it’s needed – no more, noless, said an executive with ANR Pipeline.

Kerr-McGee Corp. last week joined a growing number of productioncompanies, including ARCO, Occidental Petroleum and Unocal, thatare restructuring or reducing work forces because of the depressedoil market. Kerr-McGee said it plans to layoff about 70 workers,reducing its Oklahoma City metropolitan area work force by 7% andits exploration and production company staff by a similar amount.