Business briefs: Devon Energy announces large gas well in Haynesville Shale

Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy, the leading natural gas producer in the Barnett Shale in North Texas, announced on Monday a large gas well in another major shale-gas play, the Haynesville Shale in northwest Louisiana and East Texas. Devon said its Kardell Gas Unit 1H well achieved an average continuous 24-hour flow rate equivalent to 30.7 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The well was drilled to 18,350 feet, including a horizontal lateral section of 4,500 feet. Devon has a 48 percent interest in the well; Houston-based Crimson Exploration has 52 percent. As a result of the first well’s outstanding success, Devon said it plans to accelerate drilling activity in the area. Devon is a major player in the Haynesville, with lease holdings of 570,000 net acres.

— Jack Z. Smith

Treasury bill interest rates are down

WASHINGTON — Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday’s auction, with rates on three-month bills dropping to the lowest level since December. The Treasury Department auctioned $29 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.060 percent, down from 0.075 percent last week. Another $30 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.170 percent, down from 0.185 percent last week. Fed officials will hold a two-day meeting starting today and are expected to again signal that rates will remain at low levels for an "extended period." The three-month rate was the lowest since those bills averaged 0.050 percent Dec. 29. The six-month rate was the lowest since 0.150 percent on Oct. 13. Both three- and six-month bills remain at historically low levels as the recession has cut demand for credit. —The Associated Press

Ex-Enron official gets a year of probation

HOUSTON — Kevin Howard, former finance chief for Enron’s broadband division, was sentenced Monday to one year of probation — including nine months under home confinement — in a plea deal in which prosecutors stipulated he did not personally benefit from his crime. Rather than go to trial for the third time, Howard agreed to a deal that required no prison time. U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore also sentenced Howard to pay a $25,000 fine and said that for the first nine months of his probation he can go only to work, church, medical appointments and educational classes. While Howard did not personally benefit and his actions did not cause Enron’s 2001 downfall, he must still be held accountable, Gilmore said.

— The Houston Chronicle

Beef may have caused deaths, illnesses

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Two deaths, one in New York, the other in New Hampshire, and 26 other illnesses may be linked to fresh ground beef that has been recalled because it might be contaminated with E. coli bacteria, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. CDC spokeswoman Lola Scott Russell said all but three of the suspected infections are in the Northeast, including 18 in New England. Ashville, N.Y.-based Fairbank Farms recalled almost 546,000 pounds of fresh ground beef that had been distributed in September to stores from North Carolina to Maine. — The Associated Press

$80 billion investment may not be recouped

WASHINGTON — Taxpayers are unlikely to recover their full investment in General Motors or Chrysler, government investigators said Monday in the latest review to cast doubts that the government will recoup $80 billion. The Government Accountability Office also revealed that the Obama administration is closely scrutinizing the finances of GM and Chrysler and has set some requirements on production though it has said it will maintain a hands-off approach on daily operations. The market value of GM’s outstanding shares would have to be $66.9 billion for Treasury to make back its money, according to GAO.

— The Associated Press

Average price for gallon of regular falls a bit

Gasoline’s post-summer ascent leveled off over the weekend just as consumers begin to decide whether the money they pour into their tanks will force them to cut back on holiday spending. The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded fell two-tenths of a cent overnight to $2.691 Monday, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.

— The Associated Press

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