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BP Amoco and Atlantic Richfield Co. plan to take the next formalstep to close their merger by restarting the required 20-day noticeperiod, suspended Nov. 2, to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).The companies concede the FTC has concerns about their pairing, butthe merger partners said they don’t agree with the issues raised bythe commission.

Buoyed by a late short-covering rally natural gas futuresstruggled back up to just below unchanged yesterday as traderschose to wait on the sidelines ahead of the release of freshstorage data. The closing up-tick was the only feature bulls couldstomach in a market preoccupied by continued mild weather acrossmuch of the country. The February contract finished down 0.8 centsat $2.168 following a session that saw prices match Tuesday’s $2.20high but plumb a half-cent below Tuesday’s $2.13 low.

Natural gas futures were nearly unchanged at the close yesterdayas traders grappled with the conflicting fundamentals of storageand weather. By virtue of its 0.3-cent decline to settle at $2.285,January was the only futures contract month to lose ground. Incomparison, both the February contract and the 12-month strip wereup 0.6 cents for the session to $2.322 and $2.401 respectively.

Utility companies were close to conceding defeat late last week in their effort to get an amendment attached to a congressional spending bill that would absolve them of prosecution under the clean-air lawsuits bought by the Justice Department on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this month (See NGI, Nov. 8).

San Juan Basin prices could average close to $3.20/year by 2005,and other western points could see similar increases because of themajor supply shift that is expected to occur once the Allianceproject comes on line next year, Larry Larsen, a vice president atWilliams Gas Pipeline-West, said in a panel discussion this week atZiff Energy Group’s North American Gas Strategies conference inCalgary.

San Juan Basin prices could average close to $3.20/year by 2005,and other western points could see similar increases because of themajor supply shift that is expected to occur once the Allianceproject comes on line next year, Larry Larsen, a vice president atWilliams Gas Pipeline-West, said in a panel discussion this week atZiff Energy Group’s “North American Gas Strategies” conference inCalgary.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline and CNG Transmission said the AtlanticAlliance Project open season will be extended to Nov. 30. The openseason was originally proposed to close on Sept. 30. The pipelinessaid potential shippers requested the extension because of increaseduncertainty regarding the Millennium and Independence/MarketLinkcertificate proceedings, especially pending FERC’s announced publicconference on Independence/MarketLink. The conference is scheduled forthis Wednesday (see Daily GPI, Sept.16). Additionally, the targeted gas-fired power plant market isstill being defined. The Atlantic Alliance Project is proposed totransport up to 750,000 Dth/d of gas from Chicago and the NiagaraImport Point to developing markets in the Northeast. It will includeaccess to Transco and the proposed MarketLink Project at Leidy, PA,and to Columbia and the proposed Millennium Project at Horseheads andGreenwood, NY. Capacity will be phased in as needed on Tennessee’s andCNG’s existing systems by adding limited facilities along existingrights-of-way.

Sonat Exploration Co. of Houston, a wholly owned subsidiary ofSonat Inc. announced that it will close its Tyler, TX, and OklahomaCity offices on or shortly after Oct. 31. The action is part of aplan to improve the efficiency of the company’s exploration andproduction business. Following the office closures, SonatExploration will conduct all operations out of its main office inHouston.

For the second trading session in a row, early selling pressurewas reversed in afternoon trading allowing the market to close nearits daily high. The July contract notched a $2.325 low both Fridayand Monday, but settled back up above $2.37 both days. Evenestimated volume figures were similar with yesterday’s 43,630falling just short of Friday’s 45,070 mark.