Sumas had the distinction Tuesday of being the first point tosurpass $3 pricing in the current winter heating season, althoughPG&E citygates had gotten as high as $2.92 in the second weekof November (see Daily GPI, Nov. 11). In super-volatile quotes thatranged from the $2.20 area to as high as $3.40 (one source said heheard a $3.50 deal got done), Sumas soared far above an overallmarket that had turned stagnant since Monday’s strong rebound.
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Richardson Heads for Venezuela, Mexico
New U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said two importantitems he will be pursuing in his current visits to Venezuela andMexico will be the hemispheric integration of energy policy and thepossibility of a common electric grid. He added it is highlysignificant and symbolic that this first official call on foreigngovernments as Energy Department head will be to the two LatinAmerican nations most important to U.S. energy interests.
Star Watch: Columbia, El Paso, Enron
The current financial stars in the pipeline firmament areColumbia Energy, El Paso Energy and Enron Corp., while distributorsto watch are AGL Resources, MarketSpan, Peoples Energy and UGICorp., according to Curt Launer, vice president of Donaldson,Lufkin & Jenrette.Prospects are good for the companiesnamed, although a biannual report by the New York investment houseshows the overall interstate gas pipeline group “has not been doingvery well” so far in 1998, with stock prices significantlyunderperforming the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
Names to Watch: Columbia (CG), El Paso (EPG), Enron (ENE)
The current financial stars in the pipeline firmament areColumbia Energy, El Paso Energy and Enron Corp., while distributorsto watch are AGL Resources, MarketSpan, Peoples Energy and UGICorp., according to Curt Launer, vice president of Donaldson,Lufkin & Jenrette. Prospects are good for the companies named,although a biannual report by the New York investment house showsthe overall interstate gas pipeline group “has not been doing verywell” so far in 1998, with stock prices significantlyunderperforming the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
Hearing Scheduled on Richardson Nomination
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hasscheduled a hearing for July 22 to take up the nomination of BillRichardson, current U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to behead of the Department of Energy.
Schlesinger Directory Shows Power Marketers Growing
The promise of retail energy marketing, but probably not thecurrent results, seems to be providing enough support to the gasand power marketing community that few have decided to exit thebusiness, according to the results of Benjamin Schlesinger andAssociates’ 12th edition of its Directory of Energy MarketingService Companies.
Consultant: Mexico Tariff Holds Up Pipes
The current North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) tariffon gas imports into Mexico is holding up pipeline development fromthe U.S. to northern Mexico, said consultant George Baker of Baker& Associates. “The only people that have to pay this tariff arethe private industry who would contract with a U.S. gas supplier.If they buy [gas] from Pemex [Petroleos Mexicanos], however, it’s arolled-in price and they don’t pay it.” The tariff, originally 10%in 1991, is rolled back 1% a year and currently stands at 5%.That’s still too high for the private sector to feel confident itcan make money shipping gas to Mexico, Baker told attendees Tuesdayat the conference portion of Houston Energy Expo ’98, formerlyknown as Gas Fair. “That’s an important delay, and the origin of itis largely Pemex’s wanting to say, ‘we’re not ready for competitionyet.’ Some people say, ‘have you ever heard of a state monopolythat has acknowledged that it’s ready for competition yet.’ Mostpeople say no.”