Holds

After twice failing to bust through stubborn resistance at$4.48, natural gas futures gave back early session advancesyesterday to finish just about unchanged on the day. A slim loss inthe September contract was more than offset by modest advances inthe out months. While September finished 0.7 cents lower at $4.406,the 12-month strip was up 2.6 cents at $4.099.

Union Gas Ltd. has declared an open season for peak storage atits Dawn market hub, with injections beginning Aug. 24, and winter2000-2001withdrawal on an interruptible basis.Union is offering astorage service option that includes unlimited free cycling and aservice option for two-or-three year storage.

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.

Futures succumbed to another major technical correctionyesterday as the July contract gapped 2.5 cents lower at the openand dropped a dime early on before plummeting after the AGA gasstorage report came out at 2 p.m. At the end of the regular tradingsession, July was down 34.9 cents, August had dropped 35.1 centsand September was off 33.1 cents. The July contract had a 39-centrange for the day, trading as high as $4.335 and as low as $3.930.

The industry almost assuredly will see $4/Mcf gas later thisyear, and on a cold day in Chicago next winter it may even see gasprices “momentarily spike” to as much as $30 or $40 due to anever-tightening supply situation, says a University of Houstonprofessor.

The Vector Pipeline project, a proposed $470 million pipelineextending from Chicago to the Dawn hub in Ontario, is currentlyholding an open season through May 19. Vector said it is focused onselling the 300 MMcf/d dedicated to come online when its Highlandcompressor station is put in service in 2001. The open seasonstarted last week.

The Vector Pipeline project, a proposed $470 million pipelineextending from Chicago to the Dawn hub in Ontario, is currentlyholding an open season through May 19. Vector said it is focused onselling the 300 MMcf/d dedicated to come online when its Highlandcompressor station is put in service in 2001.

Williams Energy’s Kern River Gas Transmission announced an openseason last week to determine if customers on the system arewilling to relinquish enough capacity to meet the demand ofcompanies wishing to serve the Salt Lake City market. The openseason will run through March 3 and results will be announcedsometime in late March, a Williams spokesperson said.