History

The Texas Railroad Commission yesterday passed a sweepingmeasure that for the first time in the state’s history dramaticallyoverhauls how the state handles abandoned oil and gas wells. At thecore of the plan is a requirement that financial assurance, such asa bond or a letter of credit, be in place for a well entering itsthird year of inactivity.

Completing its quietest last-three-day settlement period inrecent history, natural gas futures moved higher early yesterdayonly to drift lower throughout the afternoon as traders lightenedtheir long exposures. The expiring May contract finished 2.1 centslower at $3.089, but for many the real story was the rest of thesummer strip which slipped an average of 2.9 cents. Estimatedvolume was light for an expiration day with only 90,843 contractschanging hands.

Petro-Canada of Calgary completed the largest land acquisitionprogram in its history as part of its focus on Canadian frontiergas and Grand Banks oil production. The company participated inthree land sales and a major farm-in to acquire new explorationacreage in the Mackenzie Delta, located in the NorthwestTerritories; the Flemish Pass Basin, located on the East Coastoffshore Newfoundland; and on the Scotian Shelf, located offshoreNova Scotia. The program adds 2.7 million acres (1.5 million netacres) to Petro-Canada’s land position.

Fueled by what one veteran trader called one of the mostdramatic price moves in the history of the natural gas market,futures prices rallied Monday as the prompt January contractsettled up 12.3 cents to $2.101. But that daily change paled incomparison to the enormous advances seen in the cash market wheredaily gains registered more than a half-dollar for many pipes.Forecasts calling for cooler temperatures for most of the countryand undervalued cash prices were reasons for the market strength,sources agreed.

With its California power marketing arrangement with Enron nowhistory, Amway Corp. has hooked up with Columbia Energy, asubsidiary of Columbia Energy Group, to market gas and electricityto residential and small business users, first in Georgia and thennationwide. The deal potentially could add more than 1.3 millionretail energy buyers across the country to Columbia’s already largeenergy customer base of 100,000 in seven states.

With its California power marketing arrangement with Enron nowhistory, Amway Corp. has hooked up with Columbia Energy, asubsidiary of Columbia Energy Group, to market gas and electricityto residential and small business users, first in Georgia and thennationwide.

The May Nymex contract lost 2.1 cents to $2.501 Wednesday amidone of the most active non-expiration days in exchange history. Anestimated 93,649 contracts changed hands, many of which were tradedafter May fell back from its new all-time high trade of $2.56. “Mayhad pretty good resistance at $2.58, but I think funds were anxiousto take profits,” an analyst told GPI.

Expiration days are known for their unusualness, but perhaps noother day in the history of the New York Mercantile Exchange willmatch the one turned in yesterday. The last few days of trading hadbeen relatively tame, but a telephone glitch that knocked outcommunications on the floor of the Exchange (see “Phone Lines Dead; Nymex TradingDisrupted”) at approximately 1:50 EST forced many traders intotrading at prices and volumes “that they otherwise would not havedone,” a source told GPI. As a result of the madness, the Marchcontract finally left the board at $2.286, up an even 7.0 cents forthe day.