第2名：El Paso

????交易代碼: EP

????年初至今股票漲幅: 81%

????市值: 192億美元

????500強排名: 481

????這家總部位于德克薩斯州休斯頓的天然氣公司10月份宣布，已接受規(guī)模更大、業(yè)務(wù)更多元化的能源公司Kinder Morgan210億美元全盤收購的要約。

????El Paso的股價在2011年大部分時間都維持了穩(wěn)步走高的趨勢，收購消息宣布后，公司股價更是一飛沖天，并保持高位運行。(大多數(shù)突然被視為收購目標(biāo)的同業(yè)股票也是如此。)

????如果收購于2012年年初完成，El Paso與Kinder Morgan的聯(lián)姻將誕生美國最大的天然氣管道公司。

????El Paso自然賣了個好價錢，但由于美國國內(nèi)天然氣需求上升，今年整體上對于天然氣生產(chǎn)商而言也是不錯的一年。

????當(dāng)然也不全都是一帆風(fēng)順。環(huán)保主義者繼續(xù)反對“壓裂法”，這種工藝將水、沙子和化學(xué)品泵入深層地下、壓斷頁巖，從而釋放出天然氣。反對者認(rèn)為，這種工藝會污染飲用水和空氣。

#2 El Paso

????Ticker: EP

????YTD stock performance: 81%

????Market cap: $19.2 billion

????Fortune 500 Rank: 481

????The Houston, Texas-based natural gas company announced in October that it had accepted a $21 billion buyout offer from Kinder Morgan, a larger and more diversified energy company.

????After moving up steadily for much of 2011, the company's shares shot up after the acquisition was announced and stayed there. (Shares of most of its competitors, which were suddenly deemed takeover targets, did too).

????Should it close as expected in early 2012, El Paso's merger with Kinder Morgan would create the largest natural gas pipeline in the US.

????Aside from El Paso's lucrative sales price, it's been a good year for natural gas producers overall, thanks to an uptick in demand for domestic gas.

????It's not all smooth sailing. Environmentalists continue to push against "fracking," a process that injects water, sand and chemicals deep into the ground to break up the shale and release natural gas. Opponents say the process is contaminating drinking water and polluting the air.