Announced Actions for August 18, 2000

Commission action regarding application for approval:

Following a public comment period, the Commission has ruled on an application for approval of a transaction from the following: Duke Energy Corporation, Duke Energy Field Services L.L.C., and Phillips Petroleum Company. These companies had applied for Commission approval to divest to Oneok Gas Processing, L.L.C., a subsidiary of Oneok, Inc., the assets required to be divested pursuant to Paragraphs II.C. through II.J. of the FTC order in Docket No. C-3932. The assets to be divested consist of gas gathering pipelines located in areas of Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. The FTC order requires that the companies obtain the prior approval of the Commission before divesting the assets.

The Commission vote to approve the application was 4-0, with Commissioner Thomas B. Leary not participating. (Docket No. C-3932; staff contact is Elizabeth Piotrowski, 202-326-2623; see press release dated March 31, 2000.)

Release of Commission report:

The Commission, with the concurrence of the Assistant Attorney General, has authorized the release of: The Twenty-Second Annual Report to Congress Regarding the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Premerger Notification Program. The report summarizes Commission and Department of Justice actions conducted under the HSR Act in Fiscal Year 1999, noting that 4,642 premerger filings were received - just slightly less than the record 4,728 in FY98, but a 203 percent increase over the 1,529 received in 1991. It goes on to describe the HSR Act, and provides a historical overview of how it has been implemented since being enacted in the late 1970s. FY99 developments relating to compliance with the Premerger Notification Rules and Procedures are then presented, followed by a discussion of both Department of Justice and FTC merger enforcement activities during the year. Finally, the report includes a summary of the ongoing reassessment of the effects of the Premerger Notification Program. Appendices provide a summary of transactions for Fiscal Years 1990-99 and the number of transactions reported as filings by month during this time.

The Commission vote to issue the report was 5-0. (File No. P859910; staff contact is Marian Bruno, 202-326-2846.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; toll free: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357); TDD for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. To find out the latest news as it is announced, call the FTC NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710.

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