Backing

With a little extra backing from the previous Friday’s modest futures rally, cash prices found enough remaining heating load — often accompanied by winter storms — to range from flat to about 20 cents higher at a large majority of points Monday. However, nearly all of the gains were in single digits.

With a little extra backing from the previous Friday’s modest futures rally, cash prices found enough remaining heating load — often accompanied by winter storms — to range from flat to about 20 cents higher at a large majority of points Monday. However, nearly all of the gains were in single digits.

The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) Monday said it was backing off earlier commitments to implement hard position limits for certain financially settled natural gas contracts from the end of September, noting that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is delaying implementation of position limits on comparable contracts under its rulemaking on Exempt Commercial Markets (ECM).

Adsorbed natural gas (ANG) technology developer Energtek Inc. said that with the new U.S. administration’s backing it expects natural gas to play an increasing role in fueling transportation across the country. President Obama has called for a major reduction in dependency on foreign oil in his energy portion of the economic stimulus bill now being implemented. More than 60% of oil consumed in the United States is used by the transportation sector. Most of the vehicles currently on the road have internal combustion engines that can run on gasoline or natural gas, Energtek said. The company’s ANG technology applies proprietary low-pressure storage technology to provide complete well-to-wheel pipeless natural gas supply solutions to industrial consumers and fleets of small vehicles. “[natural gas] is currently the only commercially viable motor fuel alternative to oil,” said Energtek CEO Lev Zaidenberg. “NG is cheaper, cleaner and there are proven reserves to power the country’s enormous automotive fleet for the foreseeable future. No other energy source, including renewable fuels, can be implemented as quickly and completely into the motor vehicle market as NG.” The call for more natural gas use in the transportation sector echoes the sentiment of oil magnate T. Boone Pickens, who has been promoting the fuel switch since last summer in his Pickens Plan (see Daily GPI, July 11, 2008).

Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, is backing Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) to be secretary of the Department of Interior in the Obama administration.

With crude oil now topping $115/bbl and natural gas prices pressing $11/Mcf, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and 19 Republican cosponsors are backing legislation to dramatically increase domestic production of oil and natural gas through the unlocking of restricted territories for exploration.

With crude oil now topping $115/bbl and natural gas prices pressing $11/Mcf, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and 19 Republican cosponsors are backing legislation to dramatically increase domestic production of oil and natural gas through the unlocking of restricted territories for exploration.

With a giant public-sector bond-backing firm, MBIA Insurance Corp., dodging a potential credit downgrade tied to the subprime mortgage meltdown, two California public power financing arms could breathe a little easier concerning $1.4 billion of bonds for pre-pay long-term natural gas purchases they helped finance last year. However, a third a third muni gas pre-pay deal by the City of Long Beach Bond Finance Authority was hit with a downgrade Wednesday.

The former CEO of Enterprise Products Partners LP is forming a new private midstream partnership with the backing of Kayne Anderson Energy Funds. Robert G. Phillips, who was president, CEO and a director of Enterprise Products Partners — one of the largest publicly traded midstream partnerships in the country — will head Crestwood Midstream Partners LLC. Phillips was chairman of the general partner of GulfTerra Energy Partners LP until September 2004 when the company merged with Enterprise; he resigned from Enterprise in May. Crestwood, to be based in Houston, will begin with a total equity commitment of $150 million from Kayne Anderson. Kayne Anderson Energy Funds manages $1.85 billion of capital for investment in the energy industry, and it invests private capital in high-growth midstream, exploration and production and oilfield services companies.