Helping

Seeking some credit for helping resolve California’s wholesale energy price and supply crisis last year, Southern California Gas Co. said at year-end that it “did everything in its power” to increase access and availability of natural gas supplies in the state, marking its tenth consecutive year of avoiding curtailments to its 5.1 million customers. (Its affiliated utility in the Sempra Energy companies, San Diego Gas and Electric Co., however, did curtail some of its largest industrial customers, including two power plants, on two separate occasions last winter.)

Seven key electric utilities and marketers proposed five”consensus recommendations” aimed at helping the House CommerceCommittee move comprehensive restructuring legislation forwardduring this Congress.

Nymex bears got their Thanksgiving feast a few days earlyyesterday when they were greeted with a hearty helping ofprice-negative fundamental and technical news. And even before theopening bell sounded that sentiment was evident in the price levelas over the counter deals traded at a dime below Friday’s close.After opening at $2.34, the December contract tumbled lower to newlife-of-contract-lows before settling at $2.197, down a whopping23.7 cents or 8% for the day. Heavy estimated volume of 120,326served to punctuate the price move.

Producers – and the lawyers, brokers and analysts they breakbread with – received a second helping of what was for lunch eightmonths ago at Houston’s Petroleum Club: a bullish outlook for gasprices.

Rocky Mountain gas producers heard encouraging news on the rolethey could play in helping the industry achieve a 30 Tcf market by2010. Several speakers at the Colorado Oil & Gas Association’sannual conference earlier this month in Denver delivered themessage that it’s largely up to the Rockies to make that kind ofmarket growth a reality.

Hurricane hype was helping drive the screen upward Monday, andboth the hype and screen strength contributed to a wide mix of cashprices that ranged from slightly softer to as much as 20cents-plus, sources said.

KN Energy International Inc. bought an interest in IntegratedGas Services of Mexico LLC (Igasamex), a Mexico City-based companythat is involved in helping Mexican industry convert to natural gasfrom alternative fuels – such as diesel, propane or fuel oil -through development of supply and transportation projects. It alsoprovides third-party inspection of pipeline construction, andprovides pipeline management services in Mexico. Terms of theacquisition were not disclosed.