Become

Despite it remaining unclear Friday whether Tropical Depression8 (expected to become Tropical Storm Hermine by Saturday) wouldhave substantive and lasting impact on Gulf of Mexico production,just the possibility was enough to propel cash prices upward byanywhere from a dime to 20 cents at eastern points. Westernmarkets, more removed from the Gulf supply outages, also rose butmostly by a dime or less. The double-digit uptick on the futuresscreen did more than anything fundamental to boost numbers in theWest, a marketer said.

In a move to build up the natural gas side of its business andbecome a Btu trading power, American Electric Power subsidiary AEPResources agreed to buy the midstream gas operations of EquitableResources, principally the Louisiana Intrastate Gas (LIG) system,for $320 million in cash. The addition will be AEP’s firstmidstream gas holdings.

In a move to build up the natural gas side of its business andbecome a Btu trading power, American Electric Power subsidiary AEPResources agreed to buy the midstream gas operations of EquitableResources, principally the Louisiana Intrastate Gas (LIG) system,for $320 million in cash. The addition will be AEP’s firstmidstream gas holdings.

The Powder River Basin in Wyoming is expected to become thehottest new gas supply point in the Rocky Mountain region over thenext few years, and multiple pipeline companies are fighting toothand nail to deliver the burgeoning supplies. The basin is expectedto show huge production growth in a relatively short period oftime, leading some observers to compare it with the San Juan Basin,where the benefit of tax credits on coal-seam gas triggered rapiddevelopment. But Powder River producers, such as Barrett Resourcesand Western Gas Resources, are doing the job without federal help.New E&P technologies and finding techniques have enabledproducers to find the reserve sweet spots faster than ever before.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has approvedthe nomination of Bill Richardson, currently U.S. ambassador to theUnited Nations, to become the next secretary to the Department ofEnergy (DOE).

Under new leadership appointed last week, Canada’s NationalEnergy Board is vowing to become more user-friendly and easier tounderstand at the same time as it grows busier. Ken Vollman, a53-year-old engineer raised on a Saskatchewan farm and formed bygritty work in western oilfields, was candid about challengesfacing the agency when he was appointed its new chairman July 15 byNatural Resources Minister Ralph Goodale.

In what has become almost routine lately, the AGA’s report ofstrong injections into storage caused a wave of follow-throughselling Thursday. A lower open allowed the contract to slip beneathsupport to settle at $2.02. In doing so, the July contract fell anadditional 8.6 cents to settle at the contract’s lowest point since1997.

After searching for a leader to take the helm at EquitableResources for nearly a year, the company’s board of directorsannounced yesterday it has appointed Coral Energy CEO Murry S.Gerber, 45. Gerber will assume his position as president and chiefexecutive officer of Equitable on June 1. Gerber also will serve asa director on the company’s board.

Non-regulated utility marketing affiliates may become a thing ofthe past, not as a result of forced divestiture but of voluntaryseparation, according to Hagler Bailly Consulting’s Ken Malloy.