Considerably

Northern Appalachian natural gas production lags considerably behind the ramp up in the Rocky Mountains, but West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise said that he is pushing for his state to one day compete head-to-head with Wyoming. Wise spoke Tuesday in Charleston, WV as keynote for the Conference on Natural Gas from Coal Seams in the Northern Appalachian Basin.

Overall prices tended to soften again Thursday, but the declines were considerably smaller than those on Wednesday in most cases. Except for a maintenance-related implosion in the Rockies market and a hefty drop on still-most-expensive Columbia-Appalachia (TCO), the great majority of points ranged from flat to less than a dime lower, and a couple saw moderate gains.

Despite the economic downturn and considerably milder weather, NiSource Inc. posted net income of $66.9 million ($0.32 per diluted share) for the fourth quarter of 2001, compared to a net income loss of $4.2 million ($0.02 loss per diluted share) for the equivalent quarter in 2000. The company also had a strong full year, turning a loss in 2000 into a sizeable gain in 2001. The company reported $216.2 million ($1.03 per diluted share) in 2001 net income, compared to $150.9 million ($1.12 per diluted share) in 2000.

Despite the economic downturn and considerably milder weather, NiSource Inc. posted net income of $66.9 million ($0.32 per diluted share) for the fourth quarter of 2001, compared to a net income loss of $4.2 million ($0.02 loss per diluted share) for the equivalent quarter in 2000. The company also had a strong full year, turning a loss in 2000 into a sizeable gain in 2001. The company reported $216.2 million ($1.03 per diluted share) in 2001 net income, compared to $150.9 million ($1.12 per diluted share) in 2000.

While natural gas prices are down considerably, the nation’s largest municipal electric utility is hoping to acquire some natural gas reserves and forward supply contracts to lock in supplies and prices for the next three to five years, the muni’s interim general manager, David Wiggs, said Thursday.

Softening continued in the cash market Tuesday, but the rate of decline slowed down considerably. Only a couple of points fell by more than a dime, while most of the others dropped a little more than a nickel or less. Scattered points, mostly in the Rockies, were flat to marginally higher.

Despite having considerably lighter air conditioning load than last week, the cash market ranged from flat to about a dime higher at nearly all points Monday. Most increases were fairly small, but Malin achieved one in the mid teens, while the day’s champion gainer of about 60 cents due a maintenance-related constraint was Cheyenne Hub. CIG recorded the only significant loss of more than a dime.

A concerted push by utilities and industries in the Pacific Northwest to implement load reductions means that the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) will only have to raise wholesale power rates by 46% starting the first of October, a not insubstantial rate hike, but a far cry from the 250% or more increases being bandied about by the BPA just two months ago (see Daily GPI, April 11; June 8).

The May aftermarket began at price levels considerably below first-of-month indexes in nearly all cases, and several traders advised against anyone holding their breath while awaiting an upturn of any significance. They cited a screen plunge Monday that was about twice as large as any of last week’s single-day drops, a general near-term weather outlook that remains on the benign side, and expectations of another big storage injection report (Lehman Brothers is projecting 70 Bcf).