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The bullish sentiment for the aftermarket that several tradershad expressed Tuesday (see Daily GPI, July 1) appeared to bejustified Wednesday as price increases of a dime or more dominatedmost points. The old refrain of “following the screen” was popularagain. But as the screen leads up, so shall it also lead back down,according to some prophecies, and so it was Wednesday. Early pricelevels were retreating late as Henry Hub futures gave up earlygains. Henry Hub cash started at $2.48-49 but fell as low as $2.40late, a marketer said.

Enron Energy Services has signed General Cable Corp. to anenergy management and supply contract covering 22 U.S. facilitiesthat will tie the price level mainly to General Cable’s business.Pricing for the multi-year contract valued at $120 million will betied to the pounds of copper consumed, feet of cable produced andweather conditions experienced during the company’s productionprocess. The rationale is that if more cable is produced, moreenergy will be used and the unit price then would be lower.

Duke Energy Trading and Marketing formed an alliance withOrlando, FL-based Enviro-Check to sell gas and energy services tothe multi-family housing (MFH) industry. The agreement is a uniqueteaming of a major gas and power marketer with a conservation andsub-metering company.

Union Pacific Resources Group sold its interests in theWattenberg area of Colorado’s Denver-Julesberg Basin toDenver-based United States Exploration Inc. for $41 million. Theproperties, which are in Adams, Arapahoe, Elbert and Weld counties,consist of 336 producing wells, which produced about 5.5 MMcf/d ofgas and 640 barrels of liquids/d in 1997. UPR retained its royaltyinterest in the properties. The transaction closed May 15 and waseffective Jan.1.

Williams complemented its retail energy marketing group with theacquisition of Tulsa-based Excel Energy Technologies, a provider ofenergy management systems and services for retail and commercialbuildings. “Excel’s products and services, combined with Williams’energy supply management products, will give our national energycustomers the benefit of proven technologies and systems to helpthem make educated decisions about energy management,” said JerryGollnick, Williams’ senior vice president of energy marketing andtrading.

Producers predicting gloom and doom for gas supply based on 1997reserve replacement estimates are being way too pessimistic,according to Tom Woods, Ziff Energy Group vice president for U.S.gas services. He told attendees at GasMart/Power ’98 Wednesday inNew Orleans the reason gas prices have been so high is that themarket is spooked. “How much of what we are seeing is the substanceof what is occurring and how much of what we are seeing is reallythe form it is taking because of some change maybe in industrybooking practices? I would suggest to you that industry bookingpractices are beginning to resemble a more traditional inventoryapproach to life rather than the very long-term reserve toproduction ratios that we traditionally used to have in terms ofrecovery…”

MichCon announced plans yesterday to give all of its 1.2 millionretail gas customers a choice of suppliers over the next threeyears. The Detroit-based distributor filed an application with theMichigan Public Service Commission for the program earlier thisweek. It is designed to begin next January with 225,000 customers.The plan also would reduce gas costs by 7% to $2.95/Mcf and freezethem for three years for those customers who continue to useMichCon as their gas provider.

Westcoast Energy announced it has agreed to sell its Albertanatural gas distribution business, Centra Gas Alberta, based inLeduc, BC, to AltaGas Services of Calgary for $61 million. Thecompany distributes gas to 53,000 residential, rural and smallindustrial customers in 90 communities in central Alberta.

Trans Energy Inc. said its merger with Natural Gas TechnologiesInc. (NGTI), a privately held oil and gas company based in Dallas,was completed March 26.