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Prices continued to rise Thursday in trading for both lateFebruary and March. It was mostly a response to the screen’sbelated run-up Wednesday, sources said, but there was enoughblizzard-like weather spreading out from the Upper Plains region togive prices a little extra boost.

The April Nymex contract got off to a fast start Thursday byopening at $2.32 and quickly moving to $2.34. However, strongtechnical selling kicked in at that point, so much so that Aprilslid back to settle the day down 3.4 cents at $2.284.

Halliburton Co. and Dresser Industries announced a $7.7 billionmerger agreement yesterday that will create the world’s largestdrilling and energy engineering company with combined 1997 revenuesof $16 billion and combined market capitalization of over $19billion. The firm, which will retain the Halliburton name will have100,000 employees worldwide. It will be based in Dallas, TX.

The controversy over the terms and conditions of the contractsgiving Natural Gas Clearinghouse a large bite of the westboundtransportation capacity on El Paso Natural Gas – capacity that wasdestined to be turned back to the pipeline at the end of last year- is expected to take center stage at FERC next week. Marketers andproducers say they plan to make a case that the contracts areanticompetitive and contain illegal negotiated terms andconditions, and are responsible for the run-up in transportationrates on El Paso’s system to the California border.

The Williams Companies Thursday said its shareholders and thoseof MAPCO approved measures necessary to complete Williams’non-taxable, stock-for-stock acquisition of MAPCO. Federal TradeCommission clearance is expected in time for a first-quarterclosing. Thursday, Williams shareholders approved a charteramendment to provide sufficient common shares and authorizedWilliams’ board of directors to issue stock to MAPCO shareholders.

Add another pipeline project to the list of those that wouldmove gas eastward from the burgeoning Chicago market center.Crossroads Pipeline, in conjunction with CNG Transmission and EastOhio Gas, scheduled an open season for firm transportationbeginning Monday, March 2 and concluding April 20.

Electricity buyers with multiple facilities are eager toconsolidate power buying activities from myriad suppliers to just ahandful when competition comes, according to a recent survey.

Sonat Energy Services purchased a 50-percent limited partnershipinterest in GPU International’s Mid-Georgia Cogen L.P. power plant.”Our experience in both natural gas and power marketing has shownus that investing in state-of-the-art natural gas-fired electricpower generation is a key ingredient to providing our customerswith the services they need in today’s competitive market,” saidSonat Energy Service s President Richard Bates. The 300 MWcogeneration power plant is a dispatchable natural gas-fired,combined cycle facility located in Kathleen, GA. It is scheduled toenter commercial operation in the second quarter of 1998. Inaddition to providing thermal energy to a Frito-Lay snack foodprocessing plant and electrical capacity to Georgia Power, thefacility also will be available to sell wholesale energy to avariety of customers. Mid-Georgia Cogen is the first independentpower project developed in Georgia.

Chicago’s Citizens Utility Board (CUB) announced it has signed asettlement agreement with Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) thatobligates the utility to terminate its controversial marketingprogram, which was designed to give the utility’s affiliatecompanies an edge in the coming competitive energy market.