Going

Energy.com Corp. of Columbus, OH, plans to go international withits Internet site on the World Wide Web. The global enhancement ofEnergy.com on-line will evolve through a series of strategicpartnerships and joint ventures. “Rapid expansion of our businessto capture the international opportunities is a key part of theoverall plan for Energy.com,” said Paul Feldman, chairman. “We seethe international market as a natural extension of the capabilitieswe have in place for the U.S. market.”

A systemwide entitlement against overtakes that began Dec. 19 onNorthwest remained in effect going into the holiday weekend.Northwest said Wednesday it would continue to operate under a Stage1 entitlement at 3% because it had not seen sufficient improvementin system conditions. However, as of Wednesday the entitlement waslifted on points south of Kemmerer (WY) Station.

The cash market has plenty of fundamentals to deal with goinginto the Christmas weekend. But despite widespread freezing weatherand a profusion of actual and/or potential pipeline OFOs (question:does a Strained Operating Condition mean CIG has a hernia?), priceswere unusually bearish Wednesday in light of what many wouldconsider bullish conditions. Most declines were in the neighborhoodof a dime, although some Western points that had been flying highearlier in the week were measuring their losses in terms ofdollars.

Sumas prices were subsiding Monday from their sky-high levelsgoing into the weekend, but the same severe cold front that hadgoosed Sumas as high as $25 Friday caused a moderate supply crisisin Northern California that pushed PG&E citygates up to $10 andMalin to $5. Most points in the overall market rose between anickel and 50 cents as an Arctic cold front was expected to leaveFlorida as about the only warm area left in the U.S. and Canada bytonight.

When the going gets tough, the tough turn to gas. That’s oneconclusion that can be drawn from results of Arthur Andersen’s 11thannual U.S. Oil and Gas Industry Outlook Survey. While 70% of the83 companies responding to the survey said they plan to cutexploration spending or hold it at current levels in the comingyear, gas will get a bigger share of the attention. Nearly half ofthe respondents (49%) plan to focus on gas exploration, an increaseof 20% from a year ago. Another 39% of respondents said they willbalance efforts between oil and gas.

In another case the FERC is going to have to defend its policyof not requiring pipelines to flow through penalty revenues, theU.S. Court of Appeals ruled Friday in remanding a case involvingNorAm Gas Transmission (No. 97-1607). The 2-1 decision in Amoco v.FERC, with Judge Randolph concurring in part and dissenting inpart, did not object to NorAm’s raising penalty rates, but it doesask for an explanation of why the Commission believes penaltyrevenues will be so insignificant as to warrant no consideration.In the year prior to NorAm’s rate filing the pipeline had collected$1.8 million in penalty revenue. The court noted FERC appeared tobelieve that because penalty rates were raised, the incidence ofpenalties would decrease. But “even if a lesser number of penaltiesare imposed, the increased penalty rate might result in a grossincrease in penalty revenue. Moreover – and this is the keyimponderable – whether a shipper will be willing to incur thepenalty depends on his cost in securing alternative supplies in atight market.”

Cash market predictions proved accurate again as pricescontinued to slide going into the weekend Friday. It didn’t take arocket scientist to make that call, sources said, as forecasts ofgorgeous weather virtually throughout the nation (and north of theborder too) should lower gas load greatly by encouraging a lot ofoutdoor activity.

In another case the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission isgoing to have to defend its policy of not requiring pipelines toflow through penalty revenues, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruledFriday in remanding a case involving NorAm Gas Transmission (No.97-1607). The 2-1 decision in Amoco v. FERC, with Judge Randolphconcurring in part and dissenting in part, did not object toNorAm’s raising penalty rates, but it does ask for an explanationof why the Commission believes penalty revenues will be soinsignificant as to warrant no consideration. In the year prior toNorAm’s rate filing the pipeline had collected $1.8 million inpenalty revenue. The court noted FERC appeared to believe thatbecause penalty rates were raised, the incidence of penalties woulddecrease. But “even if a lesser number of penalties are imposed,the increased penalty rate might result in a gross increase inpenalty revenue. Moreover – and this is the key imponderable -whether a shipper will be willing to incur the penalty depends onhis cost in securing alternative supplies in a tight market.”

Advising that pipeline monopoly power has increased with theconsolidation which has been going on over the last several years,Rebecca McDonald, an executive with Amoco and chairman this year ofthe Natural Gas Supply Assoc., warned against a reduction inregulatory oversight.