Canada

Koch Industries and the Royal Bank of Canada have formed astrategic alliance to jointly market energy-related trading andderivatives products to clients in North America andinternationally. The alliance is designed to provide the RoyalBank, which is one of the world’s top foreign exchange banks, with $30 billion/day in transactions, direct access to energy industryinformation and a broader array of energy derivative products, suchas weather derivatives. The deal gives Koch a connection to aworldwide collection of investment clientele. Royal Bank and itssubsidiaries serve 10 million clients through more than 1,500branches and offices located in 36 countries.

Cinergy Corp. took a huge step in growing its commoditymarketing operation yesterday with the purchase of Producers EnergyMarketing, LLC, (ProEnergy) from owners Oryx Energy and ApacheCorp. for $42.5 million and with the signing of a 10-year marketingalliance that covers both producers’ entire marketable gas supply,or about 1.1 Bcf/d.

The anticipated big price drops for the Memorial Day weekendshowed up on schedule Friday everywhere except in Canada. Declinesof a dime or more were common at nearly all points. Only theAppalachian pipes and a few in Louisiana managed to hang on over $2in the producing areas. Chicago and Michigan citygates fell about15 cents into the mid to high $2.00s, and Northeast citygates weredown about a dime into the low to mid $2.20s.

Despite an El Nino winter and lower gas liquids prices, NGCCorp. enjoyed a first quarter substantially better than one yearago. CEO Chuck Watson attributed the improvement to better gas andliquids marketing operations in the U.S. and the U.K.

To hasten FERC approval of its Canada-to-Illinois project,Viking Voyageur Gas Transmission said it would be willing to beplaced at-risk for any capacity that is unsubscribed during thefirst 10 years of the pipeline’s operation.