After

After all the volatility surrounding the May Nymex contract oflate, the spot month spent what is typically one of any contract’smost volatile trading days (its expiration) by slipping only 0.4cents to settle Tuesday at $2.262. A trader said late strengthpushed June and the rest of the outmonths up a couple of cents forthe day, and noted May would have expired with a gain, had it notbeen for a fund dumping a large position within the last 30 minutesof trading.

After 30% of its gas customers saved $7 million (11%) on theirgas bills through a customer choice pilot in Toledo, OH, last year,Columbia Gas of Ohio decided the results were too good to withholdfrom the rest of its customer base. The Ohio utility filed anapplication with the Ohio Public Utility Commission late Tuesday toallow the rest of its 1.3 million customers to choose alternativesuppliers.

Chesapeake Energy completed its acquisition of Hugoton Energyafter receiving shareholder approvals. Proforma for the Hugotontransaction and other announced pending acquisitions, Chesapeake’sproved oil and gas reserves will be about 1,050 Bcfe, of which 80%are natural gas. In addition, about 70% of Chesapeake’s reserveswill be proved developed producing, and 75% will consist oflong-lived Midcontinent reserves. Estimated proforma dailyproduction will exceed 410 MMcfe. Trading of Hugoton stock ceasedMarch 10, and each outstanding common share of Hugoton stock wasconverted into the right to receive 1.3 shares of Chesapeake commonstock. Holders of fractional shares will receive $8.78/Hugotonshare. About 26 million additional shares of Chesapeake will beissued to Hugoton shareholders. Including $120 million of Hugotondebt assumed by Chesapeake, the transaction is worth about $300million.

After a pause for consideration by one potential taker,TransCanada PipeLines, Canada’s second-biggest pool of natural gassupplies is again looking for new owners. Pan-Alberta Gas’president, Ross Weaver, confirmed, “we are still for sale.”