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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stevedhu who wrote (48058)	7/15/1999 7:45:00 PM
From: double-plus-good	Respond to of 95453

Ocean Energy sells Alaskan NG operations = less debt & more exploration money. biz.yahoo.com Thursday July 15, 7:18 pm Eastern Time Ocean Energy to sell unit for $290 mln NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - Crude oil and natural gas company Ocean Energy Co. said Thursday it agreed to sell its ENSTAR business unit, a natural gas distribution concern, to energy services company SEMCO Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:SMGS - news) for $290 million. SEMCO's purchase of the unit forms a gas distribution company with more than 350,000 gas customers and assets of nearly $700 million, SEMCO said in a statement. Port-Huron, Mich.-based SEMCO said the price includes the purchase of about $60 million of ENSTAR debt held by Ocean Energy. ENSTAR includes Ocean Energy unit ENSTAR Natural Gas Co. and the Alaska Pipeline Company, which delivers natural gas from several producing fields in south central Alaska to the unit's distribution system. SEMCO said the deal will help it expand its natural gas distribution business and is expected to add to earnings and cash flow per share beginning in the first full year following the deal's close. The companies expect the sale to be completed by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval. Ocean Energy said the deal allows it to focus on its core business of exploration and production and improve its balance sheet.

To: stevedhu who wrote (48058)	7/15/1999 7:45:00 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95453

Steve: Gasoline in late rally on supply drop cbs.marketwatch.com

To: stevedhu who wrote (48058)	7/15/1999 7:49:00 PM
From: double-plus-good	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

Tesco reports quarterly improvement in EBITDA & beginning of casing drilling tests. biz.yahoo.com Tesco Corporation Reports First Quarter Results CALGARY, July 15 /CNW-PRN/ - Tesco Corporation today reported that its net loss for the three months ended May 31, 1999 was $2.4 million, compared to net earnings of $2.0 million for the prior year's first quarter. << Millions of Cdn Dollars Three Months Three Months (unless noted) Ended May 31, Ended May 31, 1999 1998 Revenue $21.8 $35.6 EBITDA $0.5 $5.6 Net Earnings $(2.4) $2.0 Earnings per share - basic ($/share) $(0.08) $0.06 Earnings per share - fully diluted ($/share) $(0.08) $0.06 Capital Additions $1.3 $16.2 Working Capital $100.9 $75.3 Fully Diluted Shares Outstanding (millions) $34.8 $34.2 >> First quarter results were unfavourably impacted by spring breakup in Canada and the continued depressed levels of worldwide drilling activity caused by low oil prices. As a result, first quarter revenues of $21.8 million were $5.1 million lower than those reported in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999. Despite the lower level of activity, cost saving measures implemented by the Corporation earlier in the year allowed the Corporation to generate positive earnings before interest expense, depreciation and taxes (EBITDA) of $0.5 million, compared with negative EBITDA of $5.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999. Current highlights include: - commercial field trials of Tesoo's newest technology - casing drilling - will commence in July in both Canada and the U.S.A.; - underbalanced drilling operations have commenced in the U.S.A. and Argentina.