Brief

Forecasts of a Midwest plunge into frigid conditions again after a brief warming trend, along with colder temperatures forecast for the eastern South, kept the cash price rally that had begun Monday going at a large majority of points. Monday’s gain of 10.1 cents by February futures also contributed to the overall firmness of the physical market.

In a brief filed last Monday in federal appeals court in Washington, DC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) butted heads with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) over the issue of whether FERC has jurisdiction in cases where the manipulation of natural gas futures trades subsequently influences the price of physical gas transactions.

John F. Riordan, 72, twice chairman of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America and past president and CEO of GTI, the Gas Technology Institute, died Thursday. Riordan, who died following a brief illness, had been a board member for National Fuel Gas Co. (NFG) since 2000 and also had served on Nicor Inc.’s board. Riordan’s 40-year career in the energy industry included helming GTI from April 2000 to December 2005. He also was past president and CEO of MidCon Corp. and president of the commodity chemical business at Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy). Riordan directed Oxy’s sale of MidCon to KN Energy Inc. and he served as vice chairman of KN Energy from February 1998 to February 1999. In addition, Riordan was formerly president of the natural gas liquids business at Cities Service Co. “Our sympathies are with John’s family at this sad time,” said NFG CEO David F. Smith. “He was a most valuable member of our board of directors and his leadership and keen insight strongly contributed to the success and growth the company has achieved. He will be deeply missed.”

John F. Riordan, 72, twice chairman of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America and past president and CEO of GTI, the Gas Technology Institute, died Thursday. Riordan, who died following a brief illness, had been a board member for National Fuel Gas Co. (NFG) since 2000 and also had served on Nicor Inc.’s board. Riordan’s 40-year career in the energy industry included helming GTI from April 2000 to December 2005. He also was past president and CEO of MidCon Corp. and president of the commodity chemical business at Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy). Riordan directed Oxy’s sale of MidCon to KN Energy Inc. and he served as vice chairman of KN Energy from February 1998 to February 1999. In addition, Riordan was formerly president of the natural gas liquids business at Cities Service Co. “Our sympathies are with John’s family at this sad time,” said NFG CEO David F. Smith. “He was a most valuable member of our board of directors and his leadership and keen insight strongly contributed to the success and growth the company has achieved. He will be deeply missed.”

Newfield Exploration Co. President and COO David F. Schaible, 46, died Saturday following a brief battle with cancer. He leaves his wife Tina and four children. CEO David A. Trice, who will assume the role of president, said Schaible joined the company when it was founded in 1988, and he joined the board of directors in 2002. When he joined Newfield at the age of 28, Schaible was the youngest member of the founding group of employees. He served as executive vice president, Operations and Acquisitions from November 2004 through July. He also served as vice president, Acquisitions and Development from 1995-2004; manager, Acquisitions and Development from 1992-1995; coordinator, Acquisitions and Marketing from 1991-1992; and as petroleum engineer from 1989 to 1991. Before joining Newfield, Schaible was senior production engineer in the Eastern Gulf Division of Tenneco Oil Exploration and Production Co. He earned a degree in petroleum engineering from Marietta College, GA. He also was active in the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Finding they could defy fundamental weakness for only so long, cash prices plunged across the board Thursday. A brief midweek spurt of extra heating load in the key Midwest and Northeast market areas was rapidly approaching its end, the screen followed up Wednesday’s drop of 20 cents-plus with another one, and the extreme bearishness of the storage situation was a hot topic among traders.

A revised version of the two-year-old California Energy Action Plan is ready for the state’s two principal energy agencies to vote on it next month, according to a brief report at the California Public Utilities Commission business meeting in San Francisco Thursday. The lead CPUC Commissioner heading the revision, Dian Grueneich, said the plan is to have the plan adopted by the California Energy Commission (CEC) Aug. 24 and the CPUC the following day.

Subsidiaries of Gastar Exploration Inc. have begun drilling their fourth Deep Bossier well in the Hilltop area of East Texas, which management said could hold a “significant” deep natural gas discovery. The new well, the Gastar Greer #1 well (the Greer well), is located approximately 1/2 mile from the Gastar Fridkin-Kaufman Ltd, #1 well (the F-K #1 well) and has been permitted to a depth of 20,000 feet. Gastar expects to have an approximate 66% working interest position in the Greer #1 well and 640-acre unit. The well is expected to take approximately 110 days to drill and an additional 60 to 90 days to attempt completions and production tests if apparent pay sands are encountered. As a part of its drilling program, Gastar expects to partially test the aerial extent of the Hilltop discovery with wells planned in late 2005.

The energy industry is the second largest financial contributor to President Bush’s upcoming inaugural celebration on Jan. 20, according to a Washington, DC-based watchdog group. Twelve energy corporations and executives, including nine from the oil and natural gas industry, have chipped in a total of $2.3 million for the event, said Public Citizen. The single largest financial contributor is the finance and investment industry, kicking in $5 million, it noted. Of the $17.8 million raised so far for the inauguration, Public Citizen said records show that $17.1 million, or 96%, came from corporations and their senior executives, with two corporations — Ameriquest and Marriott International — effectively skirting the $250,000 cap on contributions by giving multiple checks through their subsidiaries.