The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) isexpected to file a comprehensive plan today asking FERC to exertlighter handed regulation over all pipeline facilities in the Gulfof Mexico.
Expected
Articles from Expected
East Prices Fall as Expected, But West Holds Firm
A double-digit drop Tuesday on the futures screen had nearly allsources anticipating softer cash prices Wednesday. They were right,at least in Eastern markets where most points fell by amounts oneither side of a nickel. But markets in the West were surprisinglyfirm. With the exception of Permian Basin and Waha gas in theSouthwest, which joined the East in fallbacks of about a nickel,the West was essentially flat to a few cents higher.
Transportation Note
NGPL expected to complete maintenance between Stations 167 and169 on the Amarillo Mainline sometime Tuesday and was tentativelyscheduling nominations through the area for today’s gas day.
FERC First Results to Debut at ‘Town Meetings’
FERC is expected to announce the long-awaited outcome of itssweeping FERC First review to staff members at various “townmeetings” within the Commission beginning this Wednesday, but it’sunclear if the results will be publicly disclosed this week.
Sources Expect Price Erosion Will Continue
Cash prices were dropping for the most part Wednesday as manyhad expected, and there’s no reason not to expect more softeningthrough the rest of the week, several sources said. They had plentyof evidence to back up their prediction: forecasts of moderatingheat in the South by the weekend, a falling futures screen and abearish AGA storage report exceeding 100 Bcf in injections.
Cash Prices Drop as Predicted by Traders
As expected, prices fell Thursday by a nickel to a dime at mostpoints. There was carryover momentum from Wednesday’s late cashsoftness that was pushed along by a drop on the futures screen, amarketer said. A lack of buyers also contributed to the marketweakness, he added. However, he saw Midcontinent prices onPanhandle Eastern, NGPL and ANR rebound to $2.08 after sliding aslow as $2.04 earlier in the day. That and the screen’s afternoonupticks have the marketer looking for upside potential in today’scash trading.
DuPont’s Conoco Divestiture Was Expected
Analysts were not surprised by Monday’s announcement that DuPontintends to sell its stake in Conoco. In fact, some wondered whattook the company so long. “That’s something they’ve [talked about]for a long time and they’re finally acting on that,” said CarolFreedenthal of Houston-based Jofree Corp. “I guess they’ve just gotbetter places they can put their money than the oil and gasbusiness.”
CNG Earnings Hit By Wholesale Exit
As expected, Consolidated Natural Gas’ (CNG) decision to exitthe wholesale marketing business showed up in first quarterresults. Warm weather and lower wellhead prices also took some ofthe blame for the reduced earnings. CNG reported 1998 first quarteroperating income down $35 million, or about $0.31/share. Net incomewas down $94 million, or $0.92/share.
Futures Plunge Expected to Reverse Cash Climb
Cash prices continued going up at most points Wednesday, oftenrepeating Tuesday’s gains of between 3 and 9 cents. Butshell-shocked traders were more interested in discussing what onecalled the “precipitous” drop in May futures and its implicationsfor both April and May cash numbers. “I’d bet a lot of people gotcaught with their pants down” by the screen’s plunge, a marketersaid. Several sources said the Nymex drop caused daily cash dealsdone late to fall.
Duke to Bring in 3 Australian LNG Cargoes
Last year, Duke Energy’s LNG imports soared 337% to 30.6 Bcf.But 1998 is expected to be even better because the recent economiccrisis in Asia has stifled demand while LNG shipping and productioncosts have been declining. Duke Energy LNG Sales announcedyesterday it purchased three more spot cargoes of liquefied naturalgas (8.9 TBtu) from the North West Shelf LNG Project in Australia.The company has arranged to sell the LNG in U.S. markets in June,August and November. It will be imported at Duke’s Trunkline LNGreceiving terminal located in Lake Charles, LA. The shipments willcome from North West Shelf’s liquefaction facilities located atWithnell Bay in the port of Dampier in Australia.