April

Even as May crude futures ran significantly higher, April natural gas — one day ahead of expiration — traded within a slim 15-cent range in Tuesday’s regular trading session at the New York Mercantile Exchange before closing at $7.214, up 14.7 cents from Monday’s close. May crude increased $1.91 to close at $66.07/bbl.

Shareholders of both Duke Energy and Cinergy last week approved the merger of the two companies. Closing is expected as early as April.

Maintenance on Laguna Station’s #3 unit, previously scheduled for March 7-9, has been postponed to April, El Paso said. The ongoing force majeure involving repair of the #2 unit at Belen Station will continue until further notice, reducing San Juan Crossover capacity by 35 MMcf/d from a base capacity of 650 MMcf/d, the pipeline added.

Adding to its 52.4-cent drop on Monday, April natural gas on Tuesday continued to probe lower in search of support. The contract set a high for the day of $6.800 in the morning and recorded a $6.580 low in the afternoon before settling at $6.714, down 7.5 cents on the day.

Despite weather than was 5% colder than normal in the fourth quarter of 2005 and 2% colder for the year, gas customers in NiSource’s utility territories in the Northeast and East North Central regions used about 5% less gas because of conservation due to high prices, the company reported.

Houston Hub Storage and Transportation L.P. an affiliate of Enstor Operating Co. LLC, will be accepting bids through Oct. 14 for firm storage capacity at its planned Houston Storage Hub for service starting April 1 in the spring of 2008, according to a Tuesday announcement.

Tidelands Oil & Gas Corp. has signed a consulting services agreement with CenterPoint Energy Pipeline Services, which will provide expertise in the design and development of Tideland’s ambitious gas infrastructure project in Northeastern Mexico. The project, which will be the first of its kind in the country, will involve construction of two large diameter border crossing pipelines, a gas storage and pipeline hub, another pipeline to industrial customers in Monterrey and an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal.

In a significant recovery from having 600 MMcf/d of capacity on Northern Border Pipeline unsold during April, Northern Border Partners LP said Thursday that the pipeline was sold out during July and August and the partnership is reiterating guidance for the year. It expects second quarter net income of $26-28 million, or $0.50 to $0.55 per unit, compared to analysts’ expectations of 48 cents.

The Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse said it has sold more than $31 million in properties at its Hybrid auction held April 13 in Houston, TX. The Clearinghouse offered 128 lots at this Selective Offering(TM), including what it called “many higher-valued, notable properties.” Approximately 275 registered bidders competed on the properties, approximately 34% of which bid on the Internet and accounted for 67% of the gross sale proceeds. The Clearinghouse’s Hybrid Auction process allows Internet bidders the opportunity to compete simultaneously and on a real time basis against floor bidders. Some of the more notable properties sold include: EOG Resources — A total of 9 lots in Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma for a total of $5,285,000. MKD Farms — multiple well lot in Graham County, KS for $630,000. Peoples Energy — multiple well lot in Calcasieu Parish, LA for $1,100,000. Page Energy Partners — Stella Field in Plaquemines Parish, LA for $900,000. Thomas Operating — Sumatra Field in Rosebud County, MT for $1,050,000. Peak Energy — Powder River Basin Field in Campbell County, WY for $1,575,000. Kyle & Gayle Mansker — Causey Field in Bee County, TX for $1,600,000. ChevronTexaco — several lots in Texas for a total of $6,600,000. The Clearinghouse’s next Hybrid auction will be held on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 at the Sheraton North Houston Hotel. Information pertaining to upcoming auctions can be accessed on the Clearinghouse website www.ogclearinghouse.com .