Buoyed by a combination of a bullish tropical storm and storage concerns, natural gas futures rumbled higher Tuesday as weak shorts propelled the market to its highest level in almost two weeks. The September contract finished 9.5 cents stronger at $3.049. The out months were equally impressive, led by the October and November contracts which each gained 9.9 cents to close at $3.142 and $3.404 respectively.
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Xcel Energy Raises Merger Synergy Savings to $1.4 B
Xcel Energy reported yesterday that it is expecting sizeable earnings growth through the next two years while realizing increased savings from the merger that formed the company in August 2000, when Minneapolis-based Northern States Power and Denver-based New Century Energies merged (see Daily GPI, Aug. 18, 2000). Xcel Energy CEO Wayne Brunetti reiterated previous statements that the company is growing rapidly due in part to the independent electricity generating company, NRG Energy, in which Xcel holds nearly a 75% stake.
New Xcel Energy Combination Completed
Just 17 months after announcement of merger plans,Minneapolis-based Northern States Power and Denver-based NewCentury Energies have cleared the last hurdle to combine under thenew name Xcel Energy Inc. The merger creates one of the 10 largestelectricity and natural gas companies in the United States.
Futures Founder on Storage and Weak Physical Prices
Amid a devastating combination of weak cash prices andpost-storage-release selling, natural gas futures tunneled lowerWednesday afternoon in a long liquidation frenzy that caught morethan a few traders off guard. After checking to its highest levelin more than a month early in the trading session, the Aprilcontract picked up downward momentum throughout the afternoon tofinish the day at $5.384, or 23.7 cents lower, but 28.7 cents morethan where it was when it began its tenure as prompt month atNymex.
PG&E Barely Hangs on, Gas Supply Situation Still Critical
Wednesday dawned with a combination of relief and continuingconcern over gas supplies for the northern half of California inthe wake of the federal emergency order expiring at midnightTuesday. The expiration left Pacific Gas and Electric Co. stillscrambling to get its main suppliers to extend current contractsinto the coming weeks and months. State regulators are expected torule today on a PG&E request for emergency supplies fromSouthern California Gas Co., something the latter utility isstrongly opposing.
Futures Crash 15% on Warm Weather Forecasts
Amid a devastating combination of a forecast calling forwarming temperatures and technical weakness, the natural gasfutures market started the year with a crash Tuesday, as tradersliquidated their long positions en masse. The price impact was feltimmediately as February prices tumbled below $9.00 in overnightAccess trading Monday night.
Louis Dreyfus Hedges Production Through Oct.
Using a combination of fixed-price swaps and costless collars,Oklahoma City-based Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas Corp. has put priceprotections on 200,000 MMBtu/d of natural gas production from Marchthrough October 2001.
PanCanadian’s New Assets Add Production, Reach
Montana Power Co. is no longer in the oil and gas business,after closing the sale of some of its energy assets to PanCanadianPetroleum Ltd. for $475 million in a combination of cash andcredit. The assets include oil, natural gas and gas liquidsexploration, production and marketing companies in the UnitedStates and Canada.
CAISO: Blackouts May Be Unavoidable in 2001
A combination of continued robust economic growth throughout theWest and dwindling supplies from out of state will make blackoutsin California more likely next summer, the CEO for the state’sindependent transmission grid operator (Cal-ISO) told theorganization’s board Wednesday.
CA ISO, Utilities Take Action on Shortages
Acknowledging that a combination of unexpected generator outagesand sustained hot weather could create the threat of power outagesthis summer, the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO)launched a new alert system for gaining enough voluntaryconservation by businesses and mass consumers to ride out thepeak-demand periods. Calling it “Power Watch 2000,” Cal-ISOPresident/CEO Terry Winter said he anticipates that both short- andlong-term the state can use market-based programs to addresspotential shortfalls.