Classic

“Summertime, and the livin’ is…way too hot,” would likely be how George and Ira Gershwin would revise their classic for contemporary times. But despite a heat wave continuing to envelop several market areas, prices retreated to either side of flat in most cases Tuesday and even saw some dives at the previously high-flying Northeast citygates.

In a classic David vs. Goliath struggle, small oil service companies in Louisiana last week won the first two rounds of the court battle over the enforcement of the Obama administration’s six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). But while the Interior Department may have been defeated, the fight is far from over.

The latest proposal for an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal along the Southern California coast is a classic case of the late-bloomers thinking they can leapfrog four competitors by saving time and money avoiding mistakes made by the front-runners in recent years. Whether the late bet pays off should become clearer by the end of this year.

The latest proposal for an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal along the Southern California coast is a classic case of the late-bloomers thinking they can leapfrog four competitors well ahead of them by saving time and money avoiding mistakes made by the front-runners in recent years. Whether the late bet pays off should become clearer by the end of this year.

Canada’s beleaguered Arctic natural gas development plan has ignited a classic constitutional law debate on federal versus provincial jurisdiction over pipelines — and pleas by project sponsors and supporters to create a special, separate dueling arena for the lawyers.

A “classic example” of the country’s “failure to plan is New England and, frankly, the whole Northeast. We just aren’t doing it right,” FERC Commissioner Nora Brownell said last Thursday in an appearance at the Platts Northeast Power Markets Forum in Arlington, VA.

In a classic example of a market that bends, but has yet to break, natural gas futures rebounded ahead of the weekend after notching a new low for the week early in Friday’s session. With that the September contract concluded a tumultuous week of trading in which three up days were not enough to overcome two days of significant losses. The contract finished at $5.533, up 9.1 cents for the day, but down 5.5 cents for the week.

After six years, the only thing that Millennium Pipeline sponsors can do is sit and wait. The 442-mile, 700 MMcf/d gas pipeline project from Lake Erie to New York City is supposed to be in service in November 2005, but a little known federal law has left the project in limbo.

After six years, the only thing that Millennium Pipeline sponsors can do is sit and wait. The 442-mile, 700 MMcf/d gas pipeline project from Lake Erie to New York City is supposed to be in service in November 2005, but a little known federal law has left the project in limbo.