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The March Nymex futures contract fell another 1.9 cents to$2.198 Friday, as traders continued the falloff in prices theystarted on Thursday. “This was not a case of traders gunning forstops, where they try to push the contract under support hoping thecontract will fall even more. This was simply an extension ofThursday,” a broker said.

Customer choice for all Pennsylvania natural gas customers couldbecome an option within the next few months, and the law thatemerges from the months of statehouse wrangling could add directionto unbundling activities in other states.

The Georgia Public Service Commission has refused to approvethree industrial supply deals signed by Atlanta Gas Light becausethe LDC filed to become a part of Georgia’s competitive gas market.

Fearing that it might be growing dusty and staid, FERC earlierthis month kicked off a three-month, all-encompassing review of itsprocedures and processes “to try and keep current with the times,including a very changing energy marketplace that we regulate,”Chairman James Hoecker said.

A leading gas marketer last week decried FERC’s reprimand ofNatural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL) formarketing-affiliate improprieties as being far too light. The minoradmonishment, according to Natural Gas Clearinghouse (NGC), failedto provide adequate redress to the overall market, and producersand marketers victimized by the Midwest pipeline’s wrongdoing.

As of Friday Sea Robin expected to restore flow Saturday (Feb.21) on its 16-inch West Cameron 580 lateral, pending favorableweather conditions. The force majeure implemented Jan. 27 whenrepairs on a leak began (see Daily GPI, Jan. 29) was to be releasedwhen the lateral was declared in service, Sea Robin said.

Few areas were getting below 32 degrees (F) Thursday, but cashprices seemed to be frozen in place everywhere. The market was muchlike the landscape around Houston, one source said: flat in alldirections.

The March Nymex contract inched 3.2 cents higher to $2.270 onThursday, amid a session sources agreed was once again dominated bytechnicals. “This looks like a very strong trading range, sotoday’s result was to be expected,” a trader said. “March drifted afew cents toward the bottom of its range on Wednesday, so it makessense the contract would move higher today. Because the tradingrange is so tight right now, that is limiting how much March can goup,” he said.

Gordon Shearer, president of Cabot LNG Corp., said he knew if hewaited long enough, liquefied natural gas would have its day in themarketplace. That appears about to happen, at least in New England,where Cabot finds itself positioned to meet growing market demandwith LNG imported from thousands of miles away. At the CambridgeEnergy Research Associates 17th annual executive conference inHouston this week, Shearer enumerated factors growing New Englandgas demand and explained how LNG can economically meet some of thatdemand.