Failed

The goal won praise but the means failed to draw support when Arctic Resources Co. unveiled the most detailed version yet of its proposal for combined transportation of natural gas from Alaska and Canada’s Northwest Territories. Territorial Premier Stephen Kakfwi described the Arctic plan as mostly a distraction.

The goal won praise but the means failed to draw support when Arctic Resources Co. unveiled the most detailed version yet of its proposal for combined transportation of natural gas from Alaska and Canada’s Northwest Territories. Territorial Premier Stephen Kakfwi described the Arctic plan as mostly a distraction.

Following word of the failed Enron Corp./Dynegy merger, fallout continues to rock the nation in more ways than one might expect. AGL Resources Inc. reported that Sequent Energy Management, its asset optimization subsidiary with a large portfolio of assets under management in the Southeast, has reached an agreement with Enron for early termination of an asset management contract related to Virginia Natural Gas (VNG), also a wholly owned subsidiary of AGL Resources.

The state of California’s persistent claim that it’s owed $8.9 billion on electricity overcharges for the May 2000-May 2001 period “has not and cannot be substantiated,” said Chief Administrative Law Judge Curtis L Wagner in his report and recommendations to the full Commission yesterday.

It failed to shock anyone when June-ending prices fell fairly hard at nearly all points. Virtually all traders did Thursday deals for flow through Saturday, eliminating the hassles of split nomination periods over a June/July bridging weekend.

After two closing dates failed to materialize earlier in the week, Edison International, parent to financially ailing Southern California Edison Co., announced Thursday its newly created nonutility financing arm has completed a $1.2 billion debt restructuring that will close Monday. Through a complicated set of transactions within the Edison family of companies, the net proceeds ultimately will be used by Edison International to pay off loans due this year.

A producer group and aboriginal leaders from Canada’s Northwest Territories failed to reach a deal last week giving the native peoples a one-third stake in the proposed Mackenzie Delta pipeline after some native leaders said they wanted more time. Optimism remained high that an agreement could be reached in the next few months, and both sides stressed that the deal isn’t dead, just postponed.

A producer group and aboriginal leaders from Canada’s Northwest Territories failed to reach a deal this week giving the native peoples a one-third stake in the proposed Mackenzie Delta pipeline after some native leaders said they wanted more time. Optimism remained high that an agreement could be reached in the next few months, and both sides stressed that the deal isn’t dead, just postponed.

Rebounding from a post-AGA sell off, natural gas futures clawed higher late yesterday as traders failed to demote prices beneath support at $4.05 for the second day in a row. At the closing bell, June futures were a penny lower for the session at $4.113. Estimated volume was relatively light considering the price action as only 66,491 contracts changed hands.