The American Gas Association currently is polling participants in its weekly storage survey to see if they will continue to cooperate with its survey through next April when the Energy Information Administration (EIA ) will take over the chore. AGA had initially announced in mid-October that it would publish its last survey on Jan. 2, 2002, and EIA followed up with an announcement last month that it would step in.

EIA said it would pick up on the storage survey, but it first must get clearance from the Office of Management and Budget for the reporting burden placed on storage companies, and arrange staffing and resources. EIA had said it hoped AGA would continue the survey at least through March so the market would have a continuous stream of information.

“Initial indications are good” that companies will continue to participate in AGA’s survey into April, Paul Wilkinson, vice president of policy and analysis, said. AGA hopes to be able to say definitely by the end of the week.

EIA intends to make its weekly gas storage survey very similar, but not identical to AGA’s. One important difference is that it will require mandatory participation from the companies it chooses to be part of the survey sample. It also will have the added benefit of being able to compare reported weekly data with its longstanding monthly information from the storage companies. Despite the fact that participation in AGA’s survey has not been mandatory, results of the new survey are not expected to differ materially since AGA’s data has lined up fairly well with EIA’s monthly reports.

Market observers also pointed out that it’s not really wise to make a changeover in critical market information during a peak period when prices are extremely sensitive to any kind of market blips.

AGA had been conducting the survey for more than seven years. Recently, the organization of LDCs came under attack when it was forced to make a major revision in survey numbers. Sources said some traders threatened the group with lawsuits. Others pointed out that the survey had grown from its original purpose, which was to furnish its members with storage updates, into a marker around which speculators made millions of dollars in trades. Just before AGA announced it was dropping the survey, FERC Chairman Pat Wood said he had been on the Nymex trading floor and was astounded when everything came to a halt just before the AGA’s weekly storage injection figure was announced.

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