Conspired

A Michigan landowner is suing Chesapeake Energy Corp., Encana Corp. and a state-based operator, alleging that they conspired to rig a state auction bidding process to acquire oil and natural gas leases in 2010.

Independent producers in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas are claiming in a lawsuit that Goldman Sachs subsidiary J. Aron & Co. and BP plc subsidiary BP Oil Supply Co. conspired with SemGroup to defraud them and convert millions of dollars worth of their crude oil and gas that was delivered to SemGroup prior to the company’s 2008 bankruptcy.

Independent producers in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas are claiming in a lawsuit that Goldman Sachs subsidiary J. Aron & Co. and BP plc subsidiary BP Oil Supply Co. conspired with SemGroup to defraud them and convert millions of dollars worth of their crude oil and gas that was delivered to SemGroup prior to the company’s 2008 bankruptcy.

Kenneth Lay, the founder and former chairman of Enron Corp., takes the spotlight in a Houston courtroom on Monday to answer charges that he conspired to commit securities and wire fraud in the three months before Enron declared bankruptcy in December 2001. Lay’s testimony comes just a few days after former CEO Jeffrey Skilling took his turn in the witness chair, maintaining his innocence on 28 criminal counts.

The long-simmering investigation over allegations that affiliates of Peoples Energy Corp. and Enron Corp. conspired to cause People’s regulated utility, People’s Gas, to buy higher-priced gas for Chicago area consumers hit the courts last Monday in separate lawsuits filed by the state of Illinois and the City of Chicago against Peoples in the Circuit Court of Cook County.

The long-simmering investigation over allegations that affiliates of Peoples Energy Corp. and Enron Corp. conspired to cause People’s regulated utility, People’s Gas, to buy higher-priced gas for Chicago area consumers hit the courts Monday in separate lawsuits filed by the state of Illinois and the City of Chicago against Peoples in the Circuit Court of Cook County.

El Paso Energy yesterday issued a “public and unequivocaldenial” of the claims that it conspired with Southern CaliforniaGas and San Diego Gas and Electric over a four-year period to driveup the price of gas and power in California. The claims were madeMonday in two class action lawsuits filed in California SuperiorCourt.

Natural gas futures continued lower yesterday as follow-throughselling on the heels of Friday’s disappointing close conspired withweaker cash market prices. Perhaps more bearish than its 11.9 centdecline, however, was the fact that August gapped below key channelsupport at $3.80 on the open. Traders agree that while breaking andsettling below support is bearish, gapping through can be acrushing blow for a market.

Shrinking demand due to warmer weather throughout the countryconspired with a 6.1-cent drop on the Nymex futures contractThursday to put an end to a small and short-lived boost from arelatively bullish storage report. Friday’s cash prices retreatedan average of 3-4 cents in most areas, erasing the small gains fromThursday’s trading, and bringing cash back to the level it hoveredaround most of the week.