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Oneok’s proposed merger with Southwest Gas received a big shot in the arm last week, as the Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUCN) unanimously approved the deal two months ahead of schedule. Although approval is still needed from Arizona and California regulators as well as Southwest Gas shareholders, both companies are confident the merger will be completed in the previously announced fourth quarter 1999 timeframe.

Exxon blew away previous production test records for gas wellsin the entire Gulf of Mexico with a well in Mobile Bay about 2.5miles offshore south of Dauphin Island. The well tested at 126MMcf/d. The previous record in Alabama state waters was 91 MMcf/dand the record for the Outer Continental Shelf is 113 MMcf/d.

MichCon officials announced a successful beginning to its pilotprogram yesterday, with 70,000 of their 75,000 eligible customerschoosing a newly introduced competing supplier in the first year ofa three-year program. Stephen E. Ewing, the president of theMichigan gas utility, said the results prove customer choiceprograms can work for the entire state.

Dominion Resources announced Friday it has signed an agreementwith General Electric Co. for an option to purchase 10 naturalgas-fired electric generation turbines for an undisclosed sum.

Cautious selling was met with light, scale-down buying pressureat the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday. And when the dust hadcleared and all the orders counted, both bulls and bears couldglean something positive from the session. Bulls were quick topoint to the $2.225 settlement, a 0.7-cent advance for the day.Bears, on the other hand, touted Friday’s lower high and lower lowas an indication the downtrend was still intact. Estimated volumeof 77,538 confirmed the heavy activity in the pit.

Columbia Gas of Virginia filed a motion with the Virginia StateCorporation Commission (SCC) last week to extend its pilot programthrough Oct. 1, 2000. The two-year program is set to expire inOctober of this year. The SCC said no date has been set for aruling on the filing.

South Jersey Gas Co. filed a petition with New Jersey’s Board ofPublic Utilities (BPU) to increase eligibility in its customerchoice pilot program from 25,000 to 50,000. The announcement marksthe second time in the past 12 months the utility has increased thesize of its pilot. The BPU has set Dec. 31 as a deadline to definecomplete statewide gas deregulation. South Jersey said 22,000customers have participated in the program. The utility serves260,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in thestate.

With the advent of ending its electricity rate freeze thissummer and moving to a more volatile pricing environment, San DiegoGas and Electric Co. was given a new incentive rate mechanism todetermine its future utility revenue needs by California regulatorslast week. Current rates will not change because of the new”performance-based ratemaking” (PBR) system, but the system will beused the next time the regulators review SDG&E’s performance.

Barrett Resources was one of the few independent producers ableto emerge from the first quarter with an increase in earningscompared to last year and it achieved the growth through gastrading operations. Revenues from Barrett’s trading division soared136% to $176 million in 1Q99 from 1Q98 and the division reported agross profit of $15.1 million compared to $4.9 million for theprior year first quarter. First quarter trading volumes increased156% to 96 Bcf, or about 1.07 Bcf/d. Barrett reported net income of$7.7 million, or 24 cents per diluted share, compared to $6.2million, or 19 cents per diluted share, for 1Q98.