A small but dramatic accident involving hazardous “sour” natural gas just outside the Alberta capital of Edmonton has left Canadian producers braced for more of their long and increasingly difficult campaign to keep access to a key supply source.
Dramatic
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EnCana Sells North Sea Assets to Nexen for $2.1B, Plans Exit from Gulf of Mexico
In a dramatic move that shows its unwavering focus on its unconventional North American natural gas business and oilsands operations, EnCana Corp. announced a $2.1 billion sale Friday of its entire United Kingdom North Sea oil assets, including a 43.2% interest in the massive Buzzard oil field, to Nexen Inc. EnCana also said it plans to sell its Gulf of Mexico holdings and exit Ecuador in 2005.
EnCana Sells North Sea Assets to Nexen for $2.1B, Plans Exit from Gulf of Mexico
In a dramatic move that shows its unwavering focus on its unconventional North American natural gas business and oilsands operations, EnCana Corp. announced a $2.1 billion sale Friday of its entire United Kingdom North Sea oil assets, including a 43.2% interest in the massive Buzzard oil field, to Nexen Inc. EnCana also said it plans to sell its Gulf of Mexico holdings and exit Ecuador in 2005.
EnCana Sells North Sea Assets to Nexen for $2.1B, Plans Exit from Gulf of Mexico
In a dramatic move that shows its unwavering focus on its unconventional North American natural gas business and oilsands operations, EnCana Corp. announced a $2.1 billion sale Friday of its entire United Kingdom North Sea oil assets, including a 43.2% interest in the massive Buzzard oil field, to Nexen Inc. EnCana also said it plans to sell its Gulf of Mexico holdings and exit Ecuador in 2005.
Greenspan Believes LNG Would Moderate Runaway Gas Prices
A dramatic rise in the six-year strip of futures prices for both crude oil and natural gas over the past three years has gone largely unnoticed as a trend that “can sigificantly affect the long-term path of the U.S. economy,” said Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan last Tuesday. He believes greater U.S. access to world liquefied natural gas (LNG) reserves would reverse this price pattern for gas.
Greenspan: Sharp Rise in Distant Futures Prices Makes LNG Critical
A dramatic rise in the six-year forward futures prices for both crude oil and natural gas within the past couple of years has attracted “relatively little attention” as a trend that “can significantly affect the long-term path of the U.S. economy,” said Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan Tuesday. Greater focus by the U.S. on liquefied natural gas (LNG) would reverse this price pattern for gas, he believes.
Stemming the Price Slide, Bargain Buyers Load Up at Nymex
After etching a dramatic six-day, one-dollar price slide, the natural gas futures market rebounded modestly Tuesday as bargain buying entered the fray. With short-range weather forecasts unchanged and fresh storage data still a day out, market watchers agreed that the uptick was due to the market’s perception that sub-$5.00 might be a good purchase should this winter turn out anything like last winter.
Transportation Notes
Northwest reported Wednesday afternoon that over the past two days it “experienced a dramatic increase in the strain gauge readings on the 26-inch mainline” near Carson, WA in the Columbia River Gorge. As a result, a stress relief project previously scheduled to begin Friday instead was implemented Wednesday. The line was taken out of service in the interests of safety for excavation crews. Physical flows were cut to zero through Willard Compressor Station (normal design capacity of 425,000 Dth/d southbound and 487,000 Dth/d northbound). “Given the current flow patterns through this section of pipe, Northwest anticipates that storage flexibility will be used to meet customer requests during the outage,” it said. “However, any significant increase in nominations across the Gorge could result in capacity cuts and a possible deficiency period.” The pipeline did not project any date for ending the work.
El Paso Cuts Dividend 82%, Plans Another $2.9 Billion in Asset Sales
El Paso Corp. shares plummeted 22.5% to $6.20 Wednesday in response to a dramatic shift in strategy and drastic financial measures taken by the company because of its seriously weakened financial position. The company said it will cut its common stock dividend by 82%, a larger amount than was expected by some analysts, to provide about $425 million in annual cash flow. It also will sell another $2.9 billion in assets to help provide funds for continuing operations. The company currently has liquidity of $2.6 billion but only about $600 million is cash.
ISO Official: California Market Remains ‘Fundamentally Frail’
While California’s electricity market has seen “dramatic improvements” since the dark days of the state’s power crisis in 2000-2001, thanks to the stabilization of prices and adequate supplies, the market remains “fundamentally frail,” an official with the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) told federal regulators last Wednesday.