Activity

Prices emerged from the weekend to move higher in fairly quietactivity Monday, mostly in amounts of a nickel or less. Theoutperforming points were concentrated in California and theNortheast.

Last week was busy for MidAmerican Energy Holdings, as it movedcloser to completing its sale to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. while alsoannouncing intentions to step up efforts in Illinois’ retail energymarket. Once the merger is finalized, the parent of a utilityserving 653,000 electric customers and 622,000 gas customers inIowa and Illinois will become a privately-held company.

FERC last week found that CNG Transmission Corp. has beenconstructing, converting and interconnecting gas storage wells atits Tioga complex in Pennsylvania without prior Commissionauthorization.

FERC last week found that CNG Transmission Corp. has beenconstructing, converting and interconnecting gas storage wells atits Tioga complex in Pennsylvania without prior Commissionauthorization.

Heavy merger activity is impacting the wholesale energymarketing segment, causing several of the top-20 marketers of 1998to exit the market, and spurring other companies to acquire assetsand start online trading, a new study has found.

In activity that was predictably very subdued for a day leadinginto the long Christmas weekend, prices ranged from flat to down afew cents Thursday. As one source commented, “Man, I’ve seen deadmarkets before, but this one seems to be rotting in the grave.”Somewhat in keeping with that remark, a marketer said many of hertrading partners had only “skeleton crews” in the office, andvirtually nobody was still around after lunchtime.

Cheniere Energy Inc. of Houston this week detailed a plan toaccelerate its exploration program in the shallow Gulf of Mexicoregions. “Cheniere has a window of opportunity that may last 12 -18 months, during which time the economics of exploration drillingin the Gulf of Mexico will be particularly attractive,” saidPresident Michael L. Harvey. “Currently, oil and gas prices arerelatively high, but the costs of drilling are low.”

Despite a sharp increase in drilling activity recently,financial reports from 21 large producers, representing about 32%of total U.S. gas production, show a gas production decline of 4%from last year’s third quarter levels and 3% from the first ninemonths of 1998.

Despite a sharp increase in drilling activity recently,financial reports from 21 large producers, representing about 35%of total U.S. gas production, show a decline of 4% from last year’sthird quarter gas production and 3% from the first nine months of1998.