Amount

Aquila Inc. tossed overboard a significant amount of excess baggage last Tuesday by exiting a power purchase agreement in Batesville, MS, and terminating another long-term prepaid natural gas supply contract. Both of the deals were a drain on liquidity and exiting them is part of the company’s ongoing repositioning program aimed at getting out of the merchant energy business.

Aquila Inc. tossed overboard a significant amount of excess baggage on Tuesday by exiting a power purchase agreement in Batesville, MS, and terminating another long-term prepaid natural gas supply contract. Both of the deals were a drain on liquidity and exiting them is part of the company’s ongoing repositioning program aimed at getting out of the merchant energy business.

The amount of Gulf of Mexico gas production shut in due to damage from Hurricane Ivan dropped sharply last week to about 742 MMcf/d on Friday from 1.2 Bcf/d a week earlier. However, Southern Natural Gas reported Thursday that pipeline replacement work at Main Pass 298 will leave about 240 MMcf/d shut in for six to 12 months.

The amount of Gulf of Mexico gas production shut in due to damage from Hurricane Ivan dropped sharply this week to about 743 MMcf/d on Thursday from 1.2 Bcf/d last Friday. However, Southern Natural Gas has reported that pipeline replacement work at Main Pass 298 will leave about 240 MMcf/d shut in for six to 12 months.

The amount of Gulf of Mexico gas production shut in due to damage from Hurricane Ivan dropped sharply this week to about 743 MMcf/d on Thursday from 1.2 Bcf/d last Friday. However, Southern Natural Gas has reported that pipeline replacement work at Main Pass 298 will leave about 240 MMcf/d shut in for six to 12 months.

Although all utilities do a certain amount of it, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was singled out last week for criticism by the California Public Utilities Commission following mounting customer complaints to regulators and adverse publicity the giant San Francisco combination utility has been receiving in local news media concerning its use of delayed and estimated bills. The CPUC Executive Director Steve Larson wrote the PG&E utility CEO last Tuesday, demanding “immediate steps” be taken to address the situation.

Although all utilities do a certain amount of it, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was singled out last week for criticism by the California Public Utilities Commission following mounting customer complaints to regulators and adverse publicity the giant San Francisco combination utility has been receiving in local news media concerning its use of delayed and estimated bills. The CPUC Executive Director Steve Larson wrote the PG&E utility CEO last Tuesday, demanding “immediate steps” be taken to address the situation.

Lehman Brothers analyst Thomas Driscoll predicts that the cumulative amount of Gulf of Mexico gas production that may end up being deferred because of Hurricane Ivan could total 80-120 Bcf. There were indications on Monday that shut-in amounts could stabilized around 2.3 Bcf/d of gas and 480,000 bbl/d of oil until repairs to offshore pipelines and production facilities can be completed.

Spot gas prices were sharply higher on Monday as 2.9 Bcf/d of Gulf of Mexico gas production remained shut in, according to the latest report from the Minerals Management Service (MMS). Several gas processing plants remained down and some Gulf pipelines, particularly Southern Natural and Tennessee Gas, continued to have difficulty returning to normal flows because of damage suffered during Hurricane Ivan.