Publicly Traded Energy Companies Show Little Change In Equity Prices In First Quarter

Pipeline & Gas Journal, May, 2000 by Carol Freedenthal

With a few exceptions, the 40 energy companies making up Pipeline & Gas Journal's Energy Industry Index showed little change in stock prices for the first quarter of 2000. Six of the companies showed a greater than 10 percent increase in equity value while only one showed a drop of greater than 10 percent of stock price from the beginning of the year to the end of the quarter. Four of the companies showing increases were in the pipeline/marketing area of the energy business. Coastal, Dynegy, Enron and Williams were the gainers. The other two were an oilfield service company, Schlumberger, and a relatively large independent producer, Apache. Only one company, CMS Energy, showed a loss greater than 10 percent.

The P&GJ Index of energy companies is drawn from a population of almost 300 energy companies operating in the United States. The group includes many foreign companies having representation on one of the U.S. stock exchanges. From the large number of companies, 40 were selected as representative of the energy industry, including such sectors as exploration and production, transportation, distribution, and marketing. Most of the companies selected have operations in more than one sector of the energy industry such as Enron being in the transportation and marketing sectors. Table 1 lists the companies selected and the various sectors each has operations across the energy spectrum. While "exploration and production" is easily understood for oil and gas companies, for electric companies it means those currently having generating capacity. If, and when, electric decontrol is fully implemented, separate companies will do the generating of power from those doing the long distance and distribution transportation. Further, saying a company is in the marketing of energy means it does more than merely sell the oil and gas it produces or control of that production.

Table 1: SELECTION OF MAJOR U. S. ENERGY COMPANIES FROM WELLHEAD TO MARKETING FOR GAS, OIL, COAL, & POWER

Companies as of 1 Apr 2000