Favor

Disregarding the arrival of Arctic air in favor of focusing on the weakness in the cash market and near-record natural gas storage levels, traders on Thursday pushed November natural gas futures 36.8 cents lower to close at $5.782. Action on Thursday marked the contract’s second consecutive 30+ cent loss.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) said late last week it has voted 5-0 in favor of launching an investigation into a PG Energy request to increase gas rates by about $29.8 million. Based in Wilkes-Barre, PA, PG Energy is a division of Southern Union Co.

Cash price movement was mixed for the second day in a row Thursday, but this time traders tended to favor the upside more. What may be the last hurrah of the 2005-06 winter appeared to have settled in for an extended stay in northern market areas, while much of the West will remain stormy and cold through at least the weekend.

Citing safety concerns, the Philadelphia City Council last Thursday voted 12-2 in favor of a “nonbinding” resolution opposing Philadelphia Gas Works’ (PGW) plan to turn its peak shaving LNG facility at Port Richmond into the Freedom Energy Center LNG import terminal.

Citing safety concerns, the Philadelphia City Council Thursday voted 12-2 in favor of a “nonbinding” resolution opposing Philadelphia Gas Works’ (PGW) plan to turn its peak shaving LNG facility at Port Richmond into the Freedom Energy Center LNG import terminal.

With active pursuers from the private and public sectors courting its favor, Sioux Falls, SD-based NorthWestern Corp.’s board Tuesday confirmed that it has entered confidentiality agreements with an unspecified “select number” of suitors. In a terse status report to shareholders, the board confirmed that its assessment of all of its “strategic options,” including the two outstanding public offers, is still incomplete and it needs what it called “formal due diligence.”

Vintage Petroleum shareholders Thursday voted in favor of Occidental Petroleum’s $4.4 billion purchase offer, including $550 million in debt assumption and $3.87 billion in OXY shares and cash. The positive vote paves the way for the acquisition to be completed at the end of the month.

Winter temperatures and high gas prices can put a credit squeeze on local distribution companies (LDC) that don’t win in the gas market or win the favor of their regulators. Of 14 LDCs followed by Standard & Poor’s (S&P), all have a purchased-gas adjustment clause and all have some form of hedging policy, both positives for credit. But S&P also looks at business profile, supply position, and storage capacity when evaluating LDC credit ratings.

Residents in the town of Robbinston, ME, voted 227-83 Tuesday in favor siting the Downeast liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in their town. The $400 million project, which would have a peak sendout capacity of 500 MMcf/d and would include one 160,000 cubic meter storage tank, would be located on Mill Cove, where Passamaquoddy Bay meets the mouth of the St. Croix River.