Included

FERC on Friday approved an offer of settlement that calls for Williams Cos. Inc. to pay California’s three largest utilities approximately $140 million to resolve claims and refunds arising from the company’s sale of electricity and natural gas into the state during the market crisis of 2000-2001.

Having navigated a difficult period that included the August 2003 blackout, energy companies maintained a stable customer satisfaction rating, while “clear signs of deterioration” were found in electric utilities’ reputations among industry leaders and analysts, according to two separate studies released last week.

FERC last Wednesday conditionally approved a proposal filed by ISO New England (ISO-NE) and New England transmission companies late last year to form a regional transmission organization (RTO). Among other things, the Commission directed ISO-NE and the transmission owners to conduct additional work on plans to eliminate interregional electric seams with bordering regions.

Kerr-McGee Corp. last week trimmed its third quarter oil and gas production outlook after running into problems in the Gulf of Mexico. The independent, which is maintaining its full-year guidance, warned that a wildcat well offshore under development could drop quarterly earnings 15 cents if it’s dry.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Electricity Oversight Board (CEOB) last Tuesday asked FERC to reopen the record in a proceeding involving the agencies’ challenge to several power contracts entered into by the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR) and various power suppliers during the state’s 2000-2001 energy crisis.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) last Wednesday said that he is hopeful that electricity titles included in comprehensive energy bills pending in the House of Representatives and the Senate can be successfully reconciled when conferees from the two chambers meet to iron out differences between the two sweeping legislative proposals.

Besides its record oil and natural gas production and revenues in 2002, Devon Energy Corp. also could boast Thursday that it pumped up its oil, gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) reserve replacements last year by 278% at a cost of $7.18/boe.

On a day of giving that included certificates for multiple pipeline expansions (see related stories), FERC also showed it can taketh away. The Commission said Wednesday it will let the price-cap waiver expire Sept. 30 in its pilot program on short-term capacity release transactions.

IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) and International Petroleum Exchange Ltd.(IPE) reported sizeable increases in volumes transacted at the close of the first quarter, with significant growth in most product categories. The New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) also reported that March trading activity set monthly records for overall volume and for a number of products.