Buzz

A large majority of points were in rally mode Tuesday, with some modest increases in cooling load and buzz about potential for new Atlantic storm activity being credited for the overall rebound. But Rockies prices continued to take it on the chin for the most part, with a bottom-end quote of 20 cents for Opal being only a nickel above the all-time record low price established last June.

The buzz out West that Southern California could be facing power outages, perhaps as soon as this summer, was called into question by a Fitch Ratings analyst last Wednesday, who noted that such an outcome depends on a lot of things going wrong at the same time.

Capping off a day-long emergency conference last Thursday called to address a potential crisis in the natural gas markets, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham told reporters he planned to move quickly on submitting recommendations to President Bush that would soften the impact of a gas supply shortage this summer or next winter.

In keeping with the recent buzz of increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) activity across the country, Texaco revealled last week that it is studying the development of a new LNG receiving and regasification terminal in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, while Shell International Gas Ltd. said that it has acquired up to 3.7 million tons of LNG from the North West Shelf (NWS) project in Australia for delivery to the Americas. Meanwhile, United Kingdom-based BG Group reported that it recently inked a 22-year contract with CMS Energy Corp.’s subsidiary, Trunkline LNG Co., for all of the current uncommitted capacity at CMS’s Lake Charles, LA, LNG terminal.

Amid a buzz about higher retail rates and the need to conserve to cut down on summer’s looming blackouts, California Gov. Gray Davis Wednesday signed a new law (SB 6X) creating the “California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority,” which will have broad powers to construct, own and operate electric generation and power facilities and finance energy conservation programs. The law becomes effective in 90 days.

In keeping with the recent buzz of increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) activity across the country, Texaco reported on Tuesday that it is currently studying the development of a new LNG receiving and regasification terminal in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, while Shell International Gas Ltd. said that it has acquired up to 3.7 million tons of LNG from the North West Shelf (NWS) project in Australia for delivery to the Americas.

The latest buzz in the oil-patch and on Wall Street is thatindependent producer and marketer Noble Affiliates Inc. of Ardmore,OK, may acquire competitor Ocean Energy Inc. in a transaction thatwould catapult the combined company into the ranks of one of thetop natural gas producers in the United States.

The latest buzz in the oil-patch and on Wall Street is thatindependent producer and marketer Noble Affiliates Inc. of Ardmore,OK, may acquire competitor Ocean Energy Inc. in a transaction thatwould catapult the combined company into the ranks of one of thetop gas producers in the United States.