Game

Saying FERC staff has only “scratched the surface of the amount of material in hand,” a FERC staff member last week used prepared testimony to recommend further review of Enron Power Marketing Inc. (EPMI) energy trader audio tapes of telephone conversations [EL03-180, et al.].

Saying FERC staff has only “scratched the surface of the amount of material in hand,” a FERC staff member on Tuesday used prepared testimony to recommend further review of Enron Power Marketing Inc. (EPMI) energy trader audio tapes of telephone conversations [EL03-180, et al.].

With the natural gas futures market resembling a game of limbo over the past few sessions, some market watchers are now asking “How low can you go.” Continuing the sloping trend from last week, December natural gas futures shed another 35.4 cents to settle at $7.60.

With the natural gas futures market resembling a game of limbo over the past few sessions, some market watchers are now asking “How low can you go.” Continuing the sloping trend from last week, December natural gas futures shed another 35.4 cents to settle at $7.60.

The game clearly is not over for the $180 million Islander East pipeline project despite the expectations of many in the gas industry. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans has overruled the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) consistency determination by the State of Connecticut, removing a major roadblock to the 50-mile, 260 MMcf/d pipeline.

The name of the game for the next three weeks at El Paso Corp. will be “proxy,” as opposing sides argue their case to shareholders on whether to keep the current board of directors by voting their white proxy statement or throw out the incumbents by voting their blue proxy statement in time for the annual meeting June 17 in Houston.

As energy merchants and utilities slowly pick themselves off the mat and get back into the game, CMS Energy Corp. and TXU Corp. last week scored some positive news.

As the natural gas industry revs up for the coming winter, Fitch Ratings said three industry trends will likely affect the credit quality of the U.S. natural gas pipeline sector in the near term. The negative overhang of ongoing parent company-level credit problems and liquidity issues, increasing regulatory scrutiny, and evolving counterparty credit risk could alter the outlook for U.S. natural gas pipelines, according to an article appearing in the latest Fitch Ratings Oil & Gas Insights newsletter.

As Gulf of Mexico producers played the waiting game with what was then still Tropical Storm Isidore, nearly all points were united in upward movement Thursday, with flatness at El Paso-Permian and a few Northeast citygates as the exception. Especially in the East, gains were considerably smaller than Wednesday’s spikes; the overall range Thursday tended to be from about a nickel to 15 cents.