Basis

Off-peak wholesale power prices on a forward basis have “strengthened considerably” from New Mexico-based PNM Resources Inc.’s projections, a company official told analysts last week during a conference call on PNM’s 2002 financial results.

With its acquisitions of Mitchell Energy & Development Corp. and Anderson Exploration on the books last year, Devon Energy Corp. scored record oil and natural gas production and revenues in 2002, and also could boast that it pumped up its oil, gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs) reserve replacements by 278% at a low cost of $7.18/boe. This year, said management, will be no different.

Sizeable declines at New England points and small ones on a couple of Rockies pipes were the major exceptions to continued moderate bullishness in the rest of the cash market Thursday. Most points ranged from flat to about a quarter higher. Much like the day before, a majority of gains were in the teens.

Southwest Gas Corp.’s plea to further push back the date for the conversion of full-requirements (FR) service on El Paso Natural Gas to contract-demand (CD) service is merely a foot-dragging maneuver on the part of the local distribution company (LDC), and should be rejected by FERC outright, said a group of major natural gas producers and marketers served by the pipeline.

PG&E Gas Transmission Northwest Corp. got the thumbs-up from FERC yesterday to expand the capacity of its system in the Pacific Northwest by 210,800 Dth/d on an annual firm basis.

“Significant web-based investments directed at residential consumers can only be justified on the basis of faith–not rational financial analysis,” according to a survey by Primen which found virtually no consumers interacting with energy companies on the internet.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) on Friday gave El Paso Natural Gas the go-ahead to re-start on a restricted basis the South Mainline line that ruptured and caused the fatal explosion in New Mexico nearly a year ago (see Daily GPI, Aug. 22, 2000), interrupting some supplies to the southwestern and California gas markets for weeks and months afterward.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) on Friday gave El Paso Natural Gas the go-ahead to re-start on a restricted basis the South Mainline line that ruptured and caused the fatal explosion in New Mexico nearly a year ago (see NGI, Sept. 4, 2000), interrupting supplies to the southwestern and California gas markets for weeks and months afterward.

Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) yesterday called on FERC to conduct astudy into why there is such a huge differential between prices fornatural gas in the supply basin and prices for the gas delivered tothe Southern California border.