text_combined: article gas marketers top gas gorillas note discussion market share halfway article top gas gorillas show strong volume growth year 2000 banner year top players gas marketing huge increases gas prices enormous volatility continuing growth sales volumes major potential profits physical gas sales volumes top 20 marketers ngi ranking grew 17 nearly 150 bcf profits among larger players came strong companies williams reporting 2 000 profit increases energy merchant segments however many smaller players tough year big news probably price pressure marketers withstand said ben schlesinger president maryland based consulting firm schlesinger associates tracks energy marketing people price exposure sides business buy side sell side actively sought hedge risks question real stresses businesses result quadrupling gas prices 2000 significant shuffling begun take place continue among leadership among whole roster 500 marketing companies predicted schlesinger first time sure 500 make price volatility stresses creates balance sheets ability meet different needs customers wrong side transaction days california going suffer significantly much different henry hub either noted harsh reality strong survive ronald j barone ubs warburg believes california energy crisis fears lack gas supply capacity driving customers strongest marketers think long term positive bigger players enron customers want go somebody big facilities somebody going guarantee somebody risk management enron 800 pound gorilla enron 800 pound gorilla gas marketing years always plenty 750 pound gorillas around last year however enron found way trade natural gas internet last glance well 1 600 pounds double size next closest rival gorilla duke energy enron sold 23 8 bcf gas last year compared 13 3 bcf year prior compared 11 9 bcf sold duke energy came second place ngi ranking gas marketers physical sales volume enron catapulted next level help handy new tool enrononline web based proprietary energy commodity trading system handles 3 000 mainly natural gas transactions day 2000 enron completed first full year deploying enrononline quickly became world largest web based e commerce site year enron executed 548 000 transactions online 3 000 customers totaling 336 billion gross value tremendous success enrononline led many observers wonder whether market concentration beginning take place industry look enron massive increase wholesale transactions wonder concentration enron 23 8 bcf pretty large 35 compared 69 bcf actually consumed north america factor multiple trades one marketer trades given molecule gas another marketer according schlesinger called churning factor close three past several years polling marketers got numbers 1999 came 60 tcf added physical sales marketing companies 100 response survey mid sized smaller companies respond reasonably extrapolated 65 tcf maybe even 70 tcf gas traded year north america physical consumption north america 25 tcf 70 divided 25 2 8 using calculation enron 23 8 bcf physical gas sales 2000 ends unreasonable 12 market share federal trade commission looks markets market share uses several tools one herschman herfindahl index measure market concentration sum squares market share participant one company owns entire 100 market hhi 10 000 department justice using 1 800 red flag considers approval mergers acquisitions according schlesinger total gas industry hhi 200 way suggestion market concentration low unbelievable highly competitive business even one competitor 12 market hhi 144 next competitor 6 certainly send red flags said could market concentration gas industry risen bit 2000 information alone would diminish fact industry one competitive businesses united states however may regional issues think added looked comment whether anyone undue market power particular region state example snowball effect going among top marketers leaders keep getting larger volume growth averages least 10 per year several factors fuel future growth price increases volatility uncertainty supplies driving buyers larger marketers according schlesinger barone online trading become new springboard additional growth allowing greater efficiency many trades take place schlesinger said believes electronic trading responsible good part 17 increase volumes enron attributed much growth online business according observers online trading still plenty room grow altra energy ceo paul bourke believes 30 gas trading takes place internet bourke said altra 8 000 natural gas trades system december however barone predicts eventually slowdown gas marketing growth united states international energy markets grab attention many marketers international pick slack contribute increasingly bottom line said barone also expects current market situation continued interest service supply commodity versatility continue driving marketing companies together think size scope scale incredibly significant one top 20 major marketers last year resulted combination two separate predecessors axia grew combination koch energy entergy rest group achieved growth without major acquisitions mergers thirteen 20 top marketers showed double triple digit volume growth two companies minus column pg e largest volume deterioration large marketers 40 1 decline annual volumes 42 decline quarterly volumes pg e went significant reorganization last year move national energy group neg bethesda md houston greatest impact trading activity company also sold energy services business texas gas transmission assets among changes really slowed trading large number people stayed behind houston said company spokesman patrick hurston time move company estimated half 100 would make move hurston say many actually made trip company still actively hiring transcanada also underwent massive reorganization last year company minus column 3 decline sales volume remainder group experienced large increases volumes enron 94 duke 15 growth sempra 51 bp amoco 100 growth