Firms

Apache Corp. Chairman Raymond Plank, continues to blast energy marketing firms, saying the U.S. Department of Justice must follow through on corporate crime and punishment. “The Justice Department appears to be moving very slowly, and occasionally netting a small fry, while letting the larger guys — the guys who take the elevator to the top floor — continue” to move freely.

Price declines in most of the market were fairly modest Friday considering the extra demand loss of a holiday weekend and the trends of moderating weather that were expected to keep temperatures mild in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. this week. The West even saw gains in California and other points outside the Southwest basins as Rockies supply constraints became a concern.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should require “all sellers of natural gas” to adhere to the agency’s proposed code of conduct for reporting prices on natural gas trades to published price indexes, the American Gas Association (AGA) said Tuesday.

FERC last Wednesday said 11 major energy companies, several of which had publicly admitted to supplying false data to published indexes on natural gas trades, have shown to the agency’s satisfaction that they have plugged up the holes in their systems for reporting prices to forestall abuses in the future.

FERC on Wednesday said 11 major energy companies, several of which had publicly admitted to supplying false data to published indexes on natural gas trades, have satisfactorily shown the agency that they have improved their systems for reporting prices in the future.

Nuclear and cyber attacks have the potential for the “greatest impact” on an energy firms’ operations and the general welfare of the public, according to a new Utilis Energy report. The Energy Infrastructure Security 2003 report is designed to point out vulnerabilities and offer recommendations on how to protect employees, assets, operations and the public. The report includes the following: information on security in the oil, gas and power sectors and methods to quantify risks; potential threats such as vulnerabilities from explosives and sabotage; the consideration of new, high-tech cyber threats and their potential to seriously harm a firm’s operations, including vulnerabilities and suggested fixes; the exploration of legal issues and constraints to energy infrastructure and security issues; and the nuclear energy sector due to the potentially catastrophic effects of an attack on atomic facilities. The report also provides human resource issues for creating and implementing policies relating to sabotage and bomb threats. It includes several case studies that address the costs and potential impacts of terrorist attacks, their possible effects on energy markets, staff and civilians. To obtain a copy of the report, visit www.utilisenergy.com.

A federal judge last week ordered The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., a publisher of energy price indexes, to appear in a Houston courtroom on June 2 to show cause why it should not be forced to turn over subpoenaed documents to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as part of an investigation into the reporting of bogus prices and other trade data to energy publications.

A federal judge has ordered The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., a publisher of energy price indexes, to appear in a Houston courtroom on June 2 to show cause why it should not be forced to turn over subpoenaed documents to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as part of an investigation into the reporting of bogus prices and other trade data to energy publications.

With winter displaying a surprisingly tenacious grip on Canadian and northern U.S. weather into the weekend, the market proved to be firmer Friday than many had expected. Once again flatness was the dominant price theme as most points were about a nickel or less up or down from unchanged.