2001

U.S. natural gas consumers could save as much as $16 billion (in 2001 dollars) on gas purchases over a 15-year period if a long-line pipeline from the Alaska North Slope to the Lower 48 states is constructed and placed into service by 2010.

With a growing interest in changing the state’s energy landscape in the post-2000/2001 crisis, California lawmakers this week will further examine two separate and major proposals for establishing a new foundation for industry matters. Sacramento observers are unsure of the ultimate fate of the two proposals — one in the state Senate and the other in the lower house Assembly.

The North American drilling rig count is off to one of its best starts in a while, up 15% since the beginning of this year, and is running counter to the year-end production spending surveys that indicated minimal spending this year, according to Raymond James Energy’s latest “Stat of the Week.”

The North American drilling rig count is off to one of its best starts in a while, up 15% since the beginning of this year, and is running counter to the year-end production spending surveys that indicated minimal spending this year, according to Raymond James Energy’s latest “Stat of the Week.”

Tengasco Inc. reported a second quarter loss of $858,197, or 9 cents per diluted share, versus a loss of $336,034, or 4 cents per diluted share for the second quarter in 2001. Among other things, the company attributed the loss to a “substantial decline” in natural gas and oil prices. Revenues declined 30% for the quarter and 23% for the first six months of the year.

A comprehensive settlement among stakeholders to further unbundle Southern California Gas Co.’s in-state transmission and storage operations was approved by California regulators Tuesday. The vote on the long-delayed measure, however, was split 3-2 with one of the majority appointees of current Gov. Gray Davis joining two holdover commissioners in approving the disputed settlement.

A comprehensive settlement among stakeholders to further unbundle Southern California Gas Co.’s in-state transmission and storage operations was approved by California regulators Tuesday. The vote on the long-delayed measure, however, was split 3-2 with one of the majority appointees of current Gov. Gray Davis joining two holdover commissioners in approving the disputed settlement.

Canadian gas production was up 2.4%, or 300 MMcf/d, during the first quarter compared to first quarter 2001, according to statistics compiled by Lehman Brothers. However, Lehman analyst Thomas Driscoll said he expects production to decline between 1% and 6% over the remainder of the year based on historical trends, leaving year-end production up as much as 1% or down as much as 4%.

Over the strong protests of its large public and private-sector electric generating customers, Sempra Energy’s two California utilities later this year will merge their natural gas buying operations as an efficiency move if state regulators okay a currently proposed decision from one of their administrative law judges. Although the two utilities are in the process of merging their management functions throughout each organization, the gas-buying combination has been a proposal since the time of the merger that eventually would form Sempra was announced in the fall of 1996.