Denying

While denying his reputation of being among the most bullish energy analysts on Wall Street, J. Marshall Adkins of Raymond James and Associates, nevertheless, raised his natural gas and oil price forecasts for both 2004 and 2005 last Monday to more than $6 above Wall Street consensus estimates in the case of West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices for 2004 and more than $1/MMBtu above average Wall Street predictions for natural gas prices in 2004.

While denying his reputation of being among the most bullish energy analysts on Wall Street, J. Marshall Adkins of Raymond James and Associates, nevertheless, raised his natural gas and oil price forecasts for both 2004 and 2005 on Monday to more than $6 above Wall Street consensus estimates in the case of West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices for 2004 and more than $1/MMBtu above Wall Street averages for natural gas prices in 2004.

Saying FERC failed to provide an “adequate explanation” for its action, a federal appeals court in Washington, DC on Friday vacated a 2002 order in which the agency rejected Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline’s practice of selective discounting of transportation rates on its system.

FERC fell short of adequately justifying its February 2002 order that rejected Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline’s practice of selective discounting of natural gas transportation services, a federal appeals court said Friday in vacating and remanding the agency’s decision.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has defended its decision to reject a requirement by Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line that converting firm transportation (FT) customers must take and pay for service on production area supply laterals. FERC’s order on (its second) remand Wednesday (RP92-137-052) explained to a court that the decision was not inconsistent with other orders regarding Transco.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has defended its decision to reject a requirement by Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line that converting firm transportation (FT) customers must take and pay for service on production area supply laterals. FERC’s order on (its second) remand Wednesday (RP92-137-052) explained to a court that the decision was not inconsistent with other orders regarding Transco.

A federal appeals court, in vacating two FERC orders Friday, said the Commission had failed to offer a “reasoned explanation” of why it denied a proposal of Northern Natural Gas Co. to offer shippers an index-based discount rate that would fluctuate between the pipeline’s maximum rate ceiling and minimum rate floor in its tariff.

A federal appeals court, in vacating two FERC orders Friday, said the Commission had failed to offer a “reasoned explanation” of why it denied a proposal of Northern Natural Gas Co. to offer shippers an index-based discount rate that would fluctuate between the pipeline’s maximum rate ceiling and minimum rate floor in its tariff.

In denying a natural gas producer’s plea for FERC to reassert jurisdiction over a network of gathering facilities in the Appalachian region, the Commission ruled last week the Virginia-based company failed to show that Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. and its gathering affiliate, Columbia Natural Resources Inc. (CNR), had acted “in concert” to manipulate gathering rates and thwart competitive transportation service.