2007

While a number of high-energy-demand markets prepare for the first real cold snap of the 2006-2007 heating season later this week (see related story), it appears the United States on average will enjoy above-normal temperatures once again this winter, according to the U.S. Winter Weather Outlook released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI), on track to take the company private in 2007, last week reported its ownership in Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) lifted quarterly net income from continuing operations to $137.3 million ($1.02/share), from $128.9 million ($1.04) in 3Q2005. KMP, meanwhile, reported 3Q2006 net income fell to $223.8 million from $245.4 million because of some accounting changes.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI), which is planning to go private in 2007, on Wednesday reported its ownership in Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) lifted quarterly net income from continuing operations to $137.3 million ($1.02/share), from $128.9 million ($1.04) in 3Q2005. KMP, meanwhile, reported 3Q2006 net income fell to $223.8 million from $245.4 million because of some accounting changes.

Energy Transfer Partners LP of Dallas announced two projects Wednesday: a natural gas processing facility in Johnson County, TX, and a 36-inch pipeline expansion connecting the Barnett Shale to the company’s 30-inch Texoma pipeline. They are further evidence of the growing role of gas production from the prolific Barnett Shale.

Ocean temperatures have increased “remarkably” in the equatorial Pacific in the last few weeks, and these El Niño conditions are likely to continue into early 2007, according to scientists with the Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Among the short- and long-term items PG&E Corp is keeping on its plate are a soon-to-be-announced settlement of its 2007 general rate case, the possibility of pursuing development of a nuclear power plant outside of California and several nonutility electric and natural gas projects, PG&E CEO Peter Darbee said during a conference call with financial analysts last Wednesday in which second-quarter earnings were reported as down, but it was mostly attributable to nonrecurring costs.

Among the short- and long-term items PG&E Corp is keeping on its plate are a soon-to-be-announced settlement of its 2007 general rate case, the possibility of pursuing development of a nuclear power plant outside of California and several nonutility electric and natural gas projects, PG&E CEO Peter Darbee said during a conference call with financial analysts Wednesday. Darbee also said he is not ruling out possible acquisitions in the future.

With a bullish long-term price deck of $70/bbl for crude oil and $10/Mcf for natural gas — and a 2% price inflator after 2007 — investors should expect “solid stock price performance” for the “entire energy complex,” including exploration and production (E&P) companies, said Raymond James in its latest “Stat of the Week.”

A House appropriations subcommittee Thursday voted out a $25.9 billion spending bill for fiscal 2007 that maintains the 25-year-old congressional ban on oil and natural gas drilling on much of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).