NGI Archives

Conoco Inc. filed a registration statement with the Securitiesand Exchange Commission (SEC) outlining a split-off plan fromDuPont that will establish Conoco as a fully independent company.The proposed split-off would be achieved through an exchange offerin which DuPont stockholders would be given an opportunity toexchange DuPont common stock for shares of Conoco Class B commonstock currently held by DuPont. The split-off is expected to becompleted in the third quarter. Last autumn, DuPont sold 30% ofConoco last October in the largest initial public offering in U.S.history. The IPO raised $4.4 billion and left DuPont with a 70%controlling interest in Houston-based producer.

Texaco, operator of Sea Robin Processing Plant, has notified SeaRobin Pipeline that the plant will be out of service formaintenance for about six weeks starting April 1. The pipeline willnot generate LTA nominations during that period.

With little in the way of fundamental support to speak of, cashprices still managed gains between a nickel and a dime Tuesday atalmost every trading point. “It’s got to be technical,” said autility buyer. The tone was set by the screen opening around $1.80,a dime higher than Monday’s opening, even though the April contracteventually ended the day with a small net loss, he said. Anothersource thought it was a case of cash starting to converge with thescreen.

In what some sources referred to as “winter’s last hurrah,” cashprices began the week on an up-note as they garnered momentum froma futures rally and continued covering of first-of-month shortpositions. Cash prices at most trading areas around the countrygained 1-3 cents from weekend levels.

For the second Monday in a row the futures market kicked off theweek with a lower open, which featured bears as the earlyaggressors. That, however, is where the similarities between thetwo weeks ended. Whereas prices continued down the slippery slopelast Monday, yesterday’s trend was almost a straight line higher.Sources said a number of factors-technical short-covering,supportive weather forecasts and even a boost from the nearby crudeoil trading pit-were reasons for the 7-cent gain to $1.769 in Aprilfutures yesterday.

Semco Energy Inc. sold Semco Energy Services, its natural gasmarketing arm, to MCN Energy Group only weeks after announcingintentions to exit the gas marketing side of its business. Nofinancial terms of the deal were disclosed except that Semcoexpects to record a gain on the sale and the companies expect thetransaction to close by the end of March.

A group of producers and marketers said it backs the “general[policy] objectives” on offshore regulation that were espoused lastmonth by Energy Secretary Bill Richardson in a letter to FERC, butstresses that debate over the “key issue” of the jurisdictionalstatus of offshore natural gas pipelines involves “a legal, not apolicy” matter.

PennzEnergy Co. and Sonat Exploration Co. formed a joint ventureto develop mineral interests underlain by coal bed methane at the700,000-acre Vermejo Park Ranch in northeast New Mexico.PennzEnergy has held the bulk of the mineral rights since 1970.

It took FERC only a few days to recognize that ANR PipelineCo.’s March 8 application for a second Wisconsin expansion projectin 18 months fails to meet the Commission’s test for showing marketneed.