"I'm sorry," the Wall Street oil analyst's executive assistant said on May 25, "but he's already left for the long holiday weekend." At 2 a.m. the next day, PR Newswire released the following: "Devon Energy and Santa Fe Snyder to Merge." Another holiday weekend, another oil and gas merger. The tactic gives the merging companies another day to schedule teleconferences and line up one-on-ones with investors. It also gives the market extra time to get used to the idea. Devon Energy Corp. and Santa Fe Snyder Corp. have broken the holiday ice for 2000. What surprises will the rest of this year's holiday weekends hold? There's a growing consensus that producers with strong balance sheets will increase their reserves through acquisitions instead of through the drill bit. Industry observers recommend keeping a close eye on Burlington Resources Inc. and Noble Affiliates Inc. It wasn't so long ago that Ocean Energy Inc. seemed to pioneer the holiday-merger maneuver when it announced its impending combination with United Meridian Corp. That deal was announced Dec. 23, 1997, when many oil analysts had left for the holidays and did not plan to return to work until after New Year's Day. Several were annoyed as their vacations were cut short to crunch numbers and produce analyses. But the strategy worked well enough that when Ocean Energy agreed to merge with Seagull Energy Corp., the deal was announced during the Thanksgiving holiday. The Houston independent was upstaged that weekend as word leaked out that Exxon and Mobil were planning to combine. Another approach is for independents to announce their merger to coincide with major oil and gas financial conferences. Parker & Parsley Petroleum Co. and Mesa Inc. unveiled their combination as Pioneer Natural Resources Co. during Howard, Weil, Labouisse, Friedrichs Inc.'s 1997 energy conference in New Orleans. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Union Pacific Resources Group Inc. did the same during this year's Howard, Weil conference. Independence Day this year is on a Tuesday, making for a four-day weekend for many members of the oil and gas financial community. And many may still be at the beach on Labor Day Weekend. But they probably will have their cellular phones, and the cell phones will be on. -Nick Snow