Concerning

The legal questions concerning the estate of Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay remain unanswered, but the court wranglings for and against ex-CEO Jeffrey Skilling and others involved in alleged misdeeds at the company continued this week in Houston.

Answering rumors circulating this week concerning a possible takeover bid by Royal Dutch Shell, EnCana Corp. said Thursday it “is not aware of any intention by any party to make an offer to purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of EnCana, nor is EnCana in discussions with any party with respect to the purchase of its issued and outstanding shares.”

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) said Thursday that it tentatively approved a settlement with Equitable Gas Co. concerning a 2003 natural gas explosion and fire that damaged part of an apartment building in Pittsburgh, injuring six people. The utility company agreed to provide additional emergency response training to its employees, set aside $55,000 to train other smaller utility companies in emergency response and pay a $5,000 fine.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) said Thursday that it tentatively approved a settlement with Equitable Gas Co. concerning a 2003 natural gas explosion and fire that damaged part of an apartment building in Pittsburgh, injuring six people. The utility company agreed to provide additional emergency response training to its employees, set aside $55,000 to train other smaller utility companies in emergency response and pay a $5,000 fine.

Projecting natural gas wellhead prices, and basically anything else concerning natural gas, hasn’t been easy for the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In fact, forecasting consumption, production and prices for just about any other energy commodity has been easier.

Projecting natural gas wellhead prices, and basically anything else concerning natural gas, hasn’t been easy for the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In fact, forecasting consumption, production and prices for just about any other energy commodity has been easier.

Western Gas Resources Inc. has filed a lawsuit against Williams Cos. concerning the control and ownership of their jointly owned properties in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. The lawsuit concerns a 1997 development and operating agreement between Western Gas and former venture partner Barrett Resources Inc., which was acquired by Williams in 2001 (see Daily GPI, May 8, 2001).

Despite predictions in some national general interest news media concerning natural gas rate hikes this winter, Las Vegas, NV-based Southwest Gas Corp. said Tuesday it does not foresee having to raise its retail charges this winter. In fact, a utility spokesperson said the company doesn’t see the need to raise rates for the next year.

Dynegy Inc. has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concerning a proposed underwritten initial public offering of 8.8 million common units in Dynegy Energy Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership that has been formed to own and operate a portion of Dynegy’s large natural gas liquids business.