Hold

A bankruptcy judge in Atlanta, GA, put the proceedings againstTitan Energy on hold yesterday after the gas marketer notified thecourt that AES Power Direct, a retail power provider, had made anoffer to purchase its assets.

Although the proposed project is focused primarily on newelectric generation and large industrial/wholesale localdistribution loads, the backers of a proposed 212-mile natural gaspipeline from the Arizona-California border south into northernBaja, Mexico are testing potential market interest for thepipeline’s U.S. segment as part of an open season running throughJuly 14.

Canada’s National Energy Board plans to hold public meetings this week on a pipeline to connect the mainland with Vancouver Island through the Georgia Strait.

Canada’s National Energy Board plans to hold public meetingsnext week on a pipeline to connect the mainland with VancouverIsland through the Georgia Strait.

The natural gas futures market had one of its more volatileweeks last week as daily price fluctuations averaged more than 20cents and price ranges averaged a substantial 28 cents. As ofFriday afternoon, the July contract stood at a lofty perch of$4.160/MMBtu, 11.7 cents higher than the previous Friday and 94.3cents above where the near-month contract stood one month earlier.

The Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse will hold anotherlive/Internet energy property auction later this month.

After rallying to new highs earlier last week, futures cameunder some selling pressure on Friday and prices slipped 0.9 cents,ending the week at $3.079. The high for the day was $3.100, a halfa cent less than the day prior and the low was $3.050 a half a centhigher than Thursday’s low. Despite the somewhat negative news, theMay contract failed to provide observers with a significant signalto start the new week.

The Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse will hold anotherlive/Internet energy property auction later this month.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is planning to hold a series of”summits” later this month to address the potential for more poweroutages this summer. Three summits are planned for April 24 —Hartford, CT, New Orleans, LA, and in an undetermined northern NewJersey city – with Energy Secretary Bill Richardson scheduled tojet to each one, along with utility executives, state regulatorsand local officials. A follow-up summit will be held April 28 inSacramento, CA. Richardson is expected to address measures thefederal government can take to prevent a repeat of brownouts,outages and price spikes during the summer months. While thesituation may have improved somewhat over last summer, “hecertainly doesn’t think we’re out of the woods yet,” said DOEspokesman Tom Welch.