Spokespeople for both sides confirmed that a lawsuit brought by California’s lieutenant governor in a state Superior Court in Los Angeles quietly late last month dropped McGraw-Hill and its two industry publications from the legal action against trading companies that alleges widespread wholesale natural gas market manipulation.
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Transportation Notes
Columbia Gas (TCO) cited a force majeure situation at the Chesapeake LNG plant in saying shippers under Rate Schedules X-131, X-132 and X-133 will be entitled to flow on a daily basis only one-fourth of their Liquefaction Demand volumes. The restriction began Thursday and will remain in effect until the situation is remedied, TCO said. It also issued an OFO to shippers under the FSS rate schedule that also have FT capacity and to NTS rate schedule customers. The OFO will become effective at 10 a.m. EST Sunday. TCO said the order was issued to preserve the integrity of its storage fields and operating performance, and to maintain its ability to provide no-notice service. See the bulletin board for details of OFO compliance.
KeySpan Earnings Up, But Gas Side Shows Red Ink
KeySpan Corp.’s gas distribution side posted a slightly larger seasonal loss in the third quarter compared to last year and a drop in exploration and production (E&P) earnings from its 67% ownership in Houston Exploration Co. The Brooklyn, NY-based company’s electric operations, meanwhile, were the star performer, leading to third-quarter consolidated earnings from operations, after subtracting for preferred stock dividends, of $3.6 million, or three cents a share.
Isidore Becomes Hurricane; Hype Still Cited in Price Rises
As Gulf of Mexico producers played the waiting game with what was then still Tropical Storm Isidore, nearly all points were united in upward movement Thursday, with flatness at El Paso-Permian and a few Northeast citygates as the exception. Especially in the East, gains were considerably smaller than Wednesday’s spikes; the overall range Thursday tended to be from about a nickel to 15 cents.
Enron’s Kopper Cited by SEC for Civil Violations, Admits to Criminal Charges
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought civil charges against former Enron Corp. executive Michael J. Kopper Wednesday for violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC charges came on the same day he appeared in a Houston federal courtroom to plead guilty to twin counts of felony conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Kopper, who is expected to be sentenced April 4, 2003 on the felonies, is the first former Enron official to admit any wrongdoing in the accounting scandal.
Cross Bay Pipeline to New York City Gets FERC Nod
Although it cited several concerns, FERC gave certificate authorization to Cross Bay Pipeline Co. LLC of Houston Wednesday to assume ownership of a 37-mile portion of Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line’s Lower New York Bay Extension and add 16,000 hp of compression in Middlesex County, NY, in order to boost gas deliveries into New York City by about 125,000 Dth/d. The Cross Bay project, first announced in January 1998, is estimated to cost $59.5 million.
Millennium Cited as High Risk to Potential Terrorist Attacks
The embattled Canada-to-New York Millennium Pipeline project has been assailed for nearly every conceivable reason, or so it was thought. As the nation last week dealt with the shock of the deadly terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., it took a New York state resident only one day after the double assaults to protest the proposed Millennium line on the grounds that it posed a prime target for terrorists.
Millennium Cited as Potential Target for Terrorists
The embattled Canada-to-New York Millennium Pipeline project has been assailed for nearly every conceivable reason, or so it was thought. As the nation continues to deal with the shock of the deadly terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., it took a New York state resident only one day after the double assaults to protest the proposed Millennium line on the grounds that it poses an enviable target to terrorists.
Screen, Next-Week Heat Forecasts Cited in Price Gains
Cash prices ignored generally weak weather fundamentals Thursday in favor of focusing on the previous afternoon’s futures spike following the AGA storage report and expectations of serious, widespread heat next week. The result was double-digit advances at nearly all points, with the key exceptions being San Juan Basin flatness and large California declines.
Enron Fires Off Lawsuit Against California Senate Committee
After being cited for contempt last month for not handing over confidential documents detailing its western power trading operations, Enron Corp. returned fire at California lawmakers last week, accusing them of making it a “convenient political scapegoat to shoulder the blame for California’s policy mistakes and changes in market fundamentals.” The Houston-based marketing and trading giant filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the State of California in Sacramento against the Senate Select Committee to Investigate Price Manipulation of the Wholesale Energy Market.