Improve

A coalition of natural gas supplier and consumer groups last Thursday expressed support for FERC’s effort to improve the quality of the financial information that interstate pipelines are required to file with the agency quarterly and annually. It asked FERC to quickly implement a series of “minor” changes to agency financial forms to ensure shippers are armed with adequate information about the pipelines that transport their gas.

A coalition of natural gas supplier and consumer groups Thursday expressed support for FERC’s effort to improve the quality of the financial information that interstate pipelines are required to file with the agency quarterly and annually. It asked FERC to quickly implement a series of “minor” changes to agency financial forms to ensure that shippers are armed with adequate information about the pipelines that transport their gas.

Denver-based Teton Energy Corp. initiated a costless collar gas hedging program for 2007 that is intended to improve financial flexibility by locking in a portion of revenues and cash flow in the event that gas prices decline. The strategy should allow Teton to develop its long-lived producing assets and increase borrowing under its credit facility with BNP Paribas.

A week after Chesapeake Energy announced it would shut in some of its gas production until prices improve (see NGI, Oct 2), Questar Corp. subsidiary Questar Exploration & Production Co. last week announced a similar move, shutting in a portion of its unhedged Rockies production in response to low prices.

The natural gas integrity management program, implemented under the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002, is still in its early stages, but it appears to be doing its job to improve pipeline safety nationwide, according to a 21-page report issued Friday by the General Accounting Office (GAO).

The natural gas integrity management program, implemented under the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002, is still in its early stages, but it appears to be doing its job to improve pipeline safety nationwide, according to a 21-page report issued Friday by the General Accounting Office (GAO).

In an effort to improve access and reduce connectivity costs to its electronic energy trading platform, Atlanta, GA-based IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) reported Wednesday it has opened a new telecommunications hub for the New York City metropolitan area. The company also reported that the exchange posted record Gas Oil (heating oil) volumes on Monday.

Dynegy Inc. and Mirant Corp. both saw results improve in the first quarter of 2006. While one company embraces commodity price hedging and the other avoids it, both are looking for growth opportunities in the months ahead, which could mean generation asset acquisitions in the offing.

Working to improve the prospects for its proposed LNG terminal in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Alabama, ConocoPhillips has offered several concessions to the state, including guaranteeing that up to 200 MMcf/d of gas would be on call for use in the state on a monthly basis at market prices.