A double-digit drop Tuesday on the futures screen had nearly allsources anticipating softer cash prices Wednesday. They were right,at least in Eastern markets where most points fell by amounts oneither side of a nickel. But markets in the West were surprisinglyfirm. With the exception of Permian Basin and Waha gas in theSouthwest, which joined the East in fallbacks of about a nickel,the West was essentially flat to a few cents higher.
Holds
Articles from Holds
TransCanada Recapitalizing Gathering
TransCanada PipeLines created limited partnership TransCanadaGas Processing LP and is offering units to the public. TransCanadaholds various ownership interests in five gathering and processingfacilities and all related agreements in Alberta and Saskatchewan.With offering proceeds, the partnership will acquire an indirect75% interest in the facilities, while TransCanada will retain theremaining 25%. After 20 years, TransCanada will reacquire thefacilities at their fair market value for cash or shares ofTransCanada. “TransCanada will recapitalize these Canadian gasprocessing investments in a very efficient manner and investorswill receive attractive returns and tax treatment,” saidTransCanada CEO George Watson.
Major Futures Support Holds Ahead of AGA Report
Trading at the New York Mercantile Exchange was once againsubdued on Tuesday, as many traders seemed to stand to thesidelines in anticipation of the release of the AGA storage reportlater this evening. Amid what trading did get accomplished, theJune contract inched 1.5 cents higher to settle the day at $2.149.
April Futures Contract Holds On For $2.30 Settle
The April Nymex contract went off the board in bearish fashionon Friday as the spot month fell 3.8 cents to conclude its tradingat $2.300. A broker noted this was as “boring” a settlement day ashe could remember, probably because low volatility last week gavetraders ample opportunities to get out of their positions beforeFriday, he said.
Consultant: Mexico Tariff Holds Up Pipes
The current North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) tariffon gas imports into Mexico is holding up pipeline development fromthe U.S. to northern Mexico, said consultant George Baker of Baker& Associates. “The only people that have to pay this tariff arethe private industry who would contract with a U.S. gas supplier.If they buy [gas] from Pemex [Petroleos Mexicanos], however, it’s arolled-in price and they don’t pay it.” The tariff, originally 10%in 1991, is rolled back 1% a year and currently stands at 5%.That’s still too high for the private sector to feel confident itcan make money shipping gas to Mexico, Baker told attendees Tuesdayat the conference portion of Houston Energy Expo ’98, formerlyknown as Gas Fair. “That’s an important delay, and the origin of itis largely Pemex’s wanting to say, ‘we’re not ready for competitionyet.’ Some people say, ‘have you ever heard of a state monopolythat has acknowledged that it’s ready for competition yet.’ Mostpeople say no.”