Fighting

Fighting off a slightly bearish storage report when compared to historical averages, the September natural gas futures contract resisted an early push lower to trade higher at midday Thursday. When it was all said and done, September futures — trading in its first day as the prompt month — gained 3.8 cents to close at $6.18.

California’s large industrial customers are fighting over El Paso’s $1.6 billion settlement payment, which was approved earlier this month by a California Superior Court in San Diego. The state attoney general’s office confirmed that it is the largest antitrust class action settlement in the state’s history.

The Illinois Manufacturers Association (IMA) is fighting the Illinois governor’s proposal to extend a 5% sales tax to all deliveries of natural gas in the state. The proposal, which has not been fully developed, is under discussion in the Illinois legislature as part of the budget plan announced by Gov. Rod Blagojevich April 9 to overcome a deficit expected to total $5 billion over two years.

The Illinois Manufacturers Association (IMA) is fighting the Illinois governor’s proposal to extend a 5% sales tax to all deliveries of natural gas in the state. The proposal, which has not been fully developed, is under discussion in the Illinois legislature as part of the budget plan announced by Gov. Rod Blagojevich April 9 to overcome a deficit expected to total $5 billion over two years.

With an indignant, fighting tone questioning the veracity of their accusers’ evidence, major energy companies named as alleged market manipulators in the “mountains of evidence” California officials submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission earlier this month filed their responses Thursday and pulled no punches. One called the California submittal “shoddy work,” and another promised to go to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend its reputation. All expressed feelings of being unfairly accused.

Now that ISO New England and the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) have dropped their plans to create a Northeast regional transmission organization (RTO), the two regions will compete directly “for the few investment dollars left on the table,” Energy Security Analysis Inc. (ESAI) concludes in a research memo issued this week.

Although still fighting investor resistance on some of its pet projects, Bakersfield, CA-based Tri-Valley Corp., one of California’s more aggressive independent oil/gas developers, Wednesday reported a profit for the third quarter, along with estimates for a profit for all of 2002.

Energy companies have taken a beating by credit rating agencies, and finally one, Questar Corp., is fighting back. The company, whose credit remains investment grade but was downgraded by Moody’s Tuesday to A2 for Questar Pipeline and Questar Gas and Baa3 for Questar Market Resources, has done nothing to warrant a downgrade, according to CEO Keith O. Rattie.

Energy companies have taken a beating by credit rating agencies, and finally one, Questar Corp., is fighting back. The company, whose credit remains investment grade but was downgraded by Moody’s Tuesday to A2 for Questar Pipeline and Questar Gas and Baa3 for Questar Market Resources, has done nothing to warrant a downgrade, according to CEO Keith O. Rattie.