Edge

Alliance Pipeline, on the leading edge of a new pipeline trend in the United States, has filed with FERC and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to increase the maximum allowed operating pressure (MAOP) of the U.S. portion of the line from 72% of the specified minimum yield strength (SMYS) to 80%.

Forecasts of fairly pleasant early-fall weather virtually everywhere outside the southern edge of the U.S., coupled with reports that the damage to oil and gas infrastructure caused by Hurricane Rita wasn’t as bad as what had been expected, led to sharp price drops across the board Monday that were mostly in triple digits.

With little in the way of fresh fundamental news and plenty of uncertainty ahead of Thursday’s storage report, natural gas futures traders played it close to their vests Tuesday. The July contract had a hard time mustering either a rally or a decline as it managed only an 11-cent trading range. It closed at $5.712, up 0.6 cents for the session. At just 62,296 contracts, estimated volume was light for the second day in a row.

Enron’s devastation has spread through the industry like the plague with many of the top gas marketers teetering on the edge of extinction in the third quarter. Some chose not to provide volume information to NGI out of what one analyst called “justifiable paranoia” over releasing any data in this time of extreme scrutiny by regulators and credit rating agencies. Meanwhile, others began to show steep declines in volumes that will surely grow exponentially next year.

Enron’s devastation has spread through the industry like the plague with many of the top gas marketers teetering on the edge of extinction in the third quarter. Some chose not to provide volume information to NGI out of what one analyst called “justifiable paranoia” over releasing any data in this time of extreme scrutiny by regulators and credit rating agencies. Meanwhile, others began to show steep declines in volumes that will surely grow exponentially next year.

Deepwater field development worldwide is forecast to continue its strong growth through 2007, and in 2003, the most — $5.29 billion — will be spent in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, according to global analysts Douglas-Westwood Ltd. Worldwide, development in the next five years likely will double, provided there are enough trained workers and enough profit for contractors.

El Paso Corp.’s credit ratings teeter on the edge of junk status after a downgrade by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services on Tuesday. S&P said El Paso remains on CreditWatch with negative implications and could fall deep into junk levels if FERC sides with an administrative law judge in concluding that the company manipulated the California natural gas market.

Deepwater field development worldwide is forecast to continue its strong growth through 2007, and in 2003, the most — $5.29 billion — will be spent in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, according to global analysts Douglas-Westwood Ltd. Worldwide, development in the next five years likely will double, provided there are enough trained workers and enough profit for contractors.

After notching a new 16-month high and cutting a wide 27-cent trading range last Thursday, natural gas futures settled down on Friday as buyers stepped back to survey the situation. Without that buying pressure, the market dropped precipitously at mid-day only to rebound modestly at the closing bell. November closed at $4.239, down 6 cents for the session, but up 9.3 cents for the week.