The overall cash market was flat to slightly higher Monday, withlarger increases tending to occur in the Southwest basins,Rockies/Pacific Northwest and California border. But by far thehighest-flying price point was intra-Alberta, where a NOVA ruptureSaturday (see Transportation Notes) was keeping up to 1 Bcf/d offthe market. Gas that had been trading in the low C$1.50s Saturdaymorning prior to the rupture was up to the C$2.10 area Monday, aCalgary source said.

Because NOVA expected to complete rupture repairs late Monday,intra-Alberta numbers almost certainly will be retreating today, amarketer commented. But he thinks it will take a few days beforeall of Monday’s gains are surrendered due to the need of shippersto repay the pipeline for overpulls and underdeliveries incurredsince Saturday. Out-month winter prices in the province roseSaturday based on uncertainty of the outage’s duration and theresulting loss of storage injections, he added, but they wererelaxing again Monday as traders learned it would be a short-livedoutage.

“Following the screen” re-entered the vocabulary of severalsources in explaining Monday’s widespread upticks. But one marketernoted that intense heat was starting to return to Gulf Coastproducing states after thunderstorms had cooled the area off for awhile. Oklahoma won’t be seeing highs above the low 90s until laterthis week, however, another trader said.

Several sources expected Monday’s futures rise to continuegiving at least a modest boost to cash prices today.

Columbia pool gas was trading at a slight premium to CNG inAppalachia Monday because shippers still have a problem getting gasinto TCO at the Broad Run and Lebanon interconnects, where thepipeline is rejecting off-system supplies, a marketer said.

Although shippers have had advance notice about large El Pasomaintenance constraints starting today (see Transportation Notes),a producer said there “is still some question about what is goingto flow.” He thinks some people are going to be surprised whentheir pool gas gets cut.

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