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FERC yesterday played Santa Claus to the natural gas industry bygranting its wish for a second extension of the deadline forcomments on the mega-notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR)addressing short-term capacity issues and notice of inquiry (NOI)focusing on long-term transportation issues (RM98-10, RM98-12]. Butit did not close the door for those few who might want to filecomments under the current schedule.

A former “wild card” in the outlook for Canada’s biggest energymarket is starting to look like an ace for natural gas that willpay off for American as well as Canadian suppliers, according tonew evidence before the National Energy Board. The NEB has beentold a healthy growth market for gas is developing fast as a resultof Ontario Hydro’s shutdowns of nuclear power generators andelectricity deregulation. According to the evidence, aC$1.7-billion (US$1.2-billion) chain of gas-fired power projects isrising from the ashes of the Crown Corp.’s crumbling monopoly andtroubled nuclear facilities.

Royal/Dutch Shell Group Chairman Mark Moody-Stuart said lastweek the company plans to sell 40% of it chemicals business andtake a related fourth quarter $4.5 billion after-tax charge. Hedescribed the move as the first step in “clearing out thecupboard,” which also will include selling multiple other assets inareas of high cost oil production, refining, and gas transportationand processing.

ComEd announced it plans to sell the Collins generating stationand the company’s peaking units in conjunction with the sale of itscoal-fired generation business. The company said it received anumber of attractive proposals for all the power plants during thefirst phase of its coal plant auction. A “short list'” of qualifiedbidders on all the plants is being compiled for the next phase.

Gregory Power Partners (GPP), a joint venture between LG&ampEPower and Columbia Energy’s Columbia Electric Corp., securedfinancing last week for a new gas-fired co-generation project nearGregory, TX, allowing the partnership to proceed with powercontract obligations with Reynolds Metal Co., the second largestU.S. aluminum producer. Terms of the financing were not disclosed.

The gas market showed last week it was fed up with low crude oilprices getting all the attention. In a market swing that wasnothing short of unbelievable, gas prices collapsed to nearhistoric lows for a week in December. Spot prices at the Henry Hubplummeted to $1.01/MMBtu on Friday and averaged $1.32 for the week,down 64 cents from the week prior. Spot prices at a number of otherlocations in Louisiana and Texas fell below $1 on Friday.

The energy industry is on the cusp of a series of mega-mergersfollowing last week’s announcement of an historic combination ofExxon and Mobil, according to many observers. Driving theconsolidation, they say, is extremely low commodity prices. Thatreasoning was reinforced last week when gas prices plummeted tohistoric lows for December (see related story this issue).

The gas market showed last week it was fed up with low crude oilprices getting all the attention. In a market swing that wasnothing short of unbelievable, gas prices collapsed to nearhistoric lows for a week in December. Spot prices at the Henry Hubplummeted to $1.01/MMBtu on Friday and averaged $1.32 for the week,down 64 cents from the week prior. Spot prices at a number of otherlocations in Louisiana and Texas fell below $1 on Friday.

According to surveys conducted for the New York State PublicService Commission as part of its customer education and outreachprogram, 64% of residential customers and 62% of business customershave a general awareness of the move to competition in the electricindustry, and most customers are optimistic about the changestaking place. However only 23% of residential customers and 34% ofsmall businesses are aware of competition in the natural gasindustry.