Freeze

Warmer-than-normal weather since the early December freeze across much of the nation has caused wholesale natural gas prices for February to drop 31% from last month’s levels for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. The San Francisco-based utility said there has been a “significant drop” in heating demand nationwide, and in California the utility’s more than four million natural gas customers “appear to be conserving above and beyond the dictates of weather.”

Wellhead freeze-offs and other cold-related delivery problems in Canada in January led to a sharp 562 MMcf/d drop in pipeline receipts from December 2003 levels to 15.419 Bcf/d, according to a survey by UBS analysts.

Wellhead freeze-offs and other cold-related delivery problems in Canada in January led to a sharp 562 MMcf/d drop in pipeline receipts from December 2003 levels to 15.419 Bcf/d, according to a survey by UBS analysts.

While it appears the Southeast is likely to come out of its freeze shortly, New England, the Northern Rockies and Plains are expected to remain cold for the foreseeable future, according to Billerica, MA-based WSI Corp.’s latest seasonal outlook, which covers the February to April period.

While it appears the Southeast is likely to come out of its freeze shortly, New England, the Northern Rockies and Plains are expected to remain cold for the foreseeable future, according to Billerica, MA-based WSI Corp.’s latest seasonal outlook, which covers the February to April period.

In response to the big arctic freeze across the Pacific Northwest, Bellevue, WA-based Puget Sound Energy reported Tuesday an all-time record natural gas send-out of 716 MMcf last Sunday, and a near-record electricity send-out of 4,540 MW Monday in its territory in western Washington, surrounding the greater Seattle metropolitan area.

With Canada and much of the northern U.S. experiencing deep-freeze low temperatures and a more-of-the-same outlook for Wednesday, the market continued to eke out small, single-digit gains at most points Tuesday.

A federal magistrate judge in Houston Thursday signed warrants to freeze some accounts of former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow, family and friends, according to The Houston Chronicle. This action came one day after former Enron colleague Michael Kopper pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy charges in a Houston court, naming Fastow as a co-conspirator in the scheme to defraud Enron of millions of dollars (see Daily GPI, Aug. 22).

What may be bullish traders’ last weather hope in an otherwise disappointingly mild winter was developing Monday, but the price reaction was somewhat subdued. Most eastern points ranged from flat to slightly more than a nickel higher, while western gains tended to be larger at about a nickel to nearly 15 cents. The stronger performance in the West was largely attributed to recovery from weekend softening, the absence of high-linepack OFOs in California and demand in the Midwest for more Rockies supplies.