A ranking of top power marketers by first quarter sales volumes shows very little movement among the ranks from the fourth quarter and a continuing increase in volumes, which were up 72% from the first quarter of last year, according to data collected by Energy Performance Review and NGI. However, the picture should change significantly this year as the market begins to shrink, trading counterparties are reduced in number, companies scale back their trading volumes due to closer scrutiny by regulators and the removal of “round-trip” or “wash” trades, and some companies exit the marketing and trading (M&T) business entirely, according to industry experts.
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Analyst Says Rig Count Approaching Bottom
Explaining that a lot has happened since the company’s last rig count forecast released in December, Raymond James & Associates analyst J. Marshall Adkins said the company is adjusting its rig count forecast downward by 60 rigs. Adkins added that given the sharp rebound in commodity prices, he believes the bottom in U.S. rig activity is “very near.”
Market Experts Disagree on Future Direction of Gas Prices
Few if any market observers a month ago predicted near-month futures prices would be approaching $3.50/MMBtu in March given the large surplus of natural gas in the nation’s storage fields and the weak economy. But it happened, and now consultants and analysts are battling over which path prices will take in the next few months. In one corner, Houston-based Simmons & Company International believes the puzzling spurt in natural gas prices is over, while in the other corner analysts at Raymond James & Associates say it’s here to stay.
California Utilities Fast Approaching Bankruptcy
Standard & Poor’s held a conference call Wednesday todeclare that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Southern CaliforniaEdison risk default and bankruptcy within weeks and are likely tosee their credit ratings fall to junk grades if they don’t get helpfrom regulators within 24 to 48 hours.
With Full Competition Approaching, BGE Seeks Waiver of FERC Rules
Following the leads of Atlanta Gas Light and National Fuel,Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) last week requested a 17-monthwaiver of FERC’s “shipper-must-have-title” policy in order tomaintain gas supply reliability when its customer choice program isexpanded to all of its 540,000 residential customers in November.
Discoveries, Disputes Grow in NW Territories,
Discoveries are approaching 1 Tcf in a southern portion of theNorthwest Territories, which is emerging as Canada’s hottest newnatural-gas drilling play, fanning flames under a simmeringregulatory and political dispute over pipeline service throughAlberta.
Discoveries Grow in Canadian North, Prompting Need for New Pipe Access
Discoveries are approaching 1 Tcf in a southern portion of theNorthwest Territories, which is emerging as Canada’s hottest newnatural-gas drilling play, fanning flames under a simmeringregulatory and political dispute over pipeline service throughAlberta.
CA Approaching Long Road to Restructuring
California regulators are scheduled to wrap up the formaldata-gathering phase of their assessment of the state’s natural gasmarkets with an oral argument March 23 in San Francisco. Using thisdata and the record from formal hearings conducted earlier thisyear, the California Public Utilities Commission will establish alist of the most promising options for injecting more competitioninto the state’s natural gas business, beginning next year. Thehalf-day hearing will divide 19 major parties into two discussionpanels: one focused on customer issues and the other oncompetitors. The three utilities will be represented on bothpanels.
BC Gas Development Fast Approaching Albert
For now, Nova Gas Transmission continues to handle about 80%(4.5 Tcf in 1997, or 12.3 Bcf/d) of Canadian gas on its provincialgathering grid because Alberta remains both the biggest producerand center of growth in output. But expectations of serious growthin British Columbia showed clearly when the National Energy Boardvisited the province’s resource development frontier of Fort St.John for regional hearings on the Alliance Pipeline Project