Harbinger

Perhaps offering a harbinger of some increased interest for natural gas exploration in California, a publicly held Los Angeles-based independent, Silver Star Energy, Inc., announced Tuesday it will drill a test well in part of the widespread, but mature, dry gas field in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California, between Stockton and Sacramento.

In what is a harbinger for other electricity-intensive high-techcorridors that have sprung up in various regions of the U. S., alocal zoning decision in the midst of California’s Silicon Valleycould decide the fate of a new generating plant that everyoneagrees is badly needed to serve the rapidly growing powerrequirements of the Internet-connected, new economy businesses.

Columbia Energy Group subsidiary Columbia Energy Services’ (CES)decision to sell its wholesale and trading operation may be aharbinger of a white knight deal to save Columbia from a hostiletakeover by NiSource. Then again, it may simply represent theacknowledgement by the Virginia-based company that its strengthlies in its regional roots.

The tiny futures increase Monday seemed insignificant but mighthave been a harbinger of a much stronger rise Tuesday that carriedcash up with it. As has often been the case in the past, sourcesdragged out the old refrain of “following the screen” to explain…why cash was rising. Most points west of Waha were flat to only acouple of cents higher, and Rockies prices even fell a bit, butother markets tended to see upticks of 4-9 cents. Activity wasdecidedly more intense following what many people had considered a”boring market” Monday.