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In news from the “no surprise” department last week, third quarter earnings for three major U.S. oil companies – ExxonMobil, Chevron and Texaco – handily surpassed analysts’ expectations on the wave of surging oil and gas prices. ExxonMobil beat predictions by six cents, Texaco beat the estimates by 12 cents and Chevron also soared, rolling over an expected earnings forecast by 54 cents.

A revised auction process for firm capacity, described as moremarket responsive, on Kinder Morgan’s Natural Gas Pipeline Companyof America won approval from the Federal Energy RegulatoryCommission last week (RP97-431-009).

New and improved drilling technology is turning out to be partof the answer to the emerging natural gas supply squeeze, at leastin Canada. Horizontal wells, developed initially for oil, increasethe accessibility, raise the productivity and cut the overall costsof tapping gas fields too, says a study by the National EnergyBoard, the Oil and Gas Commission of British Columbia and the B.C.Ministry of Energy.

In the second announcement this month about expanding pipeline capacity for the growing and hungry gas-fired power generation market in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, Duke Energy Gas Transmission said it plans to extend its East Tennessee Natural Gas System with a 95-mile extension from Virginia into North Carolina.

With overloads of turned-back capacity and a bottoming market for long-term pipeline transportation contracts, distributors have finally picked up some pipeline support for a “generic” departure from straight fixed variable (SFV) rates.

As an interim measure prior to California’s state-charteredelectric transmission grid operator (Cal-ISO) making longer-termchanges, its board of governors adopted by a 13-10 vote lastThursday a load differentiated price cap promoted by a consumeradvocate representative on the badly splintered stakeholder board.The action drew swift criticism from generators through theirWashington, DC-based association.

FERC last week gave Tennessee Gas Pipeline an extension untilJune 1, 2001 to complete construction of its Eastern ExpressProject 2000 expansion.

Nymex got final approval last week for its demutualization plan from the Internal Revenue Service, which said there would be no tax consequences for the organization or its members. The plan, which calls for the equity in the exchange to remain with the seat-owners of its Nymex Division, will make the exchange the first in New York to convert from a not-for-profit membership structure to a for-profit organization.

With total electricity sales likely to creep along at a snail’space of 1.2% growth each year over the next five years, picking theright market to set up shop could be the difference between lifeand death for many power marketers and utilities, according to apresentation made last week by Mark J. Bock, senior economist onelectric power from WEFA Inc.