Impact

Soaring gas prices in two of the last three winters have prompted the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) in Illinois to call for state regulatory action to encourage the state’s utilities to improve their risk management practices.

Soaring gas prices in two of the last three winters have prompted the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) in Illinois to call for state regulatory action to encourage the state’s utilities to improve their risk management practices.

The cash market failed to derive much new strength Wednesday from a polar air mass continuing to dominate the weather picture in the northern half of the U.S. from the Rockies eastward and starting to spread into parts of the Southeast, not to mention a soaring screen. Instead, most points ranged from a nickel or so higher to down about 20 cents, with considerably greater declines recorded at Northeast citygates.

Consulting firm R.J. Rudden Associates Inc. is conducting a survey of local distribution companies (LDCs) to determine the impact on their business of the demise of large marketing companies since the Enron bankruptcy.

While acknowledging that industry liquidity has been crimped in recent months as big-league names abandon the energy trading playing field, Entergy Corp. for the most part hasn’t been impacted “in any meaningful way” from the unwinding of trading books, John Wilder, Entergy’s CFO, said last Tuesday while appearing at Edison Electric Institute’s 37th annual financial conference in Palm Desert, CA.

Despite the negative impact on production this year from Anadarko Petroleum’s plan to sell $220 million in non-core oil and gas assets and another $100 million of low-margin, low-growth properties, CEO John Seitz reiterated the company’s forecast of 6% production growth next year and 10% production growth in 2004. Production this year is expected to be down 5.5% to 188 million boe. Production growth next year and in 2004 is expected to come mainly from fields in the Gulf of Mexico, Canada and Qatar.

Despite the negative impact on production this year from Anadarko Petroleum’s plan to sell $220 million in non-core oil and gas assets and another $100 million of low-margin, low-growth properties, CEO John Seitz reiterated the company’s forecast of 6% production growth next year and 10% production growth in 2004. Production this year is expected to be down 5.5% to 188 million boe. Production growth next year and in 2004 is expected to come mainly from fields in the Gulf of Mexico, Canada and Qatar.

With even moderate growth, the economic impact of offshore development for Nova Scotia in the next 30 years would be striking, giving the province more gains in gross domestic product (GDP) than any other region of Canada, according to a study by the Greater Halifax Partnership. The study, the first of its kind, examined three potential development scenarios to predict future impacts on the economy, and found that as long as the government offers credible incentives to industry, Nova Scotia’s growth will be dramatic.

Williams shares were volatile last week, as investors weighed the potential impact of its former communications subsidiary, Williams Communications (WCG), considering filing for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. WCG said it was considering bankruptcy as one potential option in its financial restructuring effort. Williams already is examining the possibility that it will be obligated to cover WCG’s $2.2 billion in debt if the communications company defaults on its loans.