FERC’s conference on the status of price reporting late last month produced a face-off between price index publishers and the director of enforcement for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a confrontation indicative of the intensity of the behind-the-scenes legal battles being fought by the publishers to maintain confidentiality of their sources.
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Trade Publications, CFTC Duke it Out
FERC’s conference on the status of price reporting produced a face-off Friday between price index publishers and the director of enforcement for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a confrontation indicative of the intensity of the behind-the-scenes legal battles being fought by the publishers to maintain confidentiality of their sources.
Transportation Notes
Gulf South said Tuesday that unscheduled maintenance on Index 129 (Agua Dulce 24-inch line in South Texas) has been extended until further notice and that capacity through the Refugio Compressor Station will continue to be affected by as much as 50 MMcf/d. The original posting on the work anticipated that it would be completed Oct. 17 (see Daily GPI, Oct. 6).
Correction
In a story that ran in today’s Daily Gas Price Index. It was incorrectly stated that FERC informed El Paso Natural Gas this week that it should have a written agreement governing money pool arrangements with its parent company. The story should have said that although El Paso Natural Gas already does have a written agreement with its parent related to its cash management program, the agreement is outdated and does not identify the current name of the parent company. FERC Chief Accountant John Delaware also told the pipeline company that it should update its cash management agreement to include missing information, such as the duties and responsibilities of both the pipeline and its parent company, the specific interest rate, when the interest is to be paid and the method for calculating and allocating expenses (see Daily GPI, Sept. 12).
Correction
In the article titled “NiSource Puts Columbia Energy’s E&P Assets Up for Sale” in NGI’s Daily Gas Price Index, Oct. 14, 2002, the following paragraph should be substituted for paragraphs 7-9. Correcting and stating that the merger involved Columbia Energy Group instead of Columbia Energy Resources. NGI regrets the error.
Consultant: FERC Staff Misses Key Distinction Between Market, Index Manipulation
Energy consultant James Wilson of LECG LLC’s Washington, DC, office said he agreed with FERC’s staff’s conclusion last week that there probably was gas market manipulation during autumn 2000 to early summer 2001. However, he believes staff provided no evidence for the additional claim that published price indices were inaccurate or manipulated. Also, Wilson said it would be hard to distinguish the impact of manipulation vs. price increases due to market forces (see Daily GPI, Aug. 15).
Aftermarket Begins Up From End-of-January, Index Levels
The February aftermarket got off to a fairly strong start Thursday with swing quotes up a few cents from end-of-January levels in most cases and generally about 15-20 cents ahead of apparent monthly indexes.
Correction
In a story that ran in NGI’s Daily Gas Price Index on Dec. 5, titled “Gas Sales Soar 24% in 3Q, but Enron Casts Dark Cloud Over Future,” NGI noted that BP is expected to expand its trading and marketing activities because of it purchase of TransCanada’s marketing operations in September. However, NGI failed to mention that Mirant actually is buying the larger portion of TransCanada’s marketing and trading business, a book covering about 5.1 Bcf/d of TransCanada’s first quarter sales of 7.9 Bcf/d. In September, BP Gas & Power bought TransCanada’s CanStates Gas Marketing, a contract to manage gas supply assets for SEMCO Energy Gas Co., and its marketing and trading operations in its Omaha, NE office. Mirant, however, will become the largest gas dealer in Canada and the top exporter as well with its TransCanada purchase. The deal raises Mirant’s profile in Canadian gas into the range of 6-7 Bcf/d and boosts its total North American gas sales to about 18.2 Bcf/d, which could put it at the top of the rankings in the fourth quarter. TransCanada, Canada’s largest natural gas transporter, exited the natural gas marketing business to focus on its core natural gas transportation and power businesses in Canada and the northern tier of the United States.
Correction
In a story that ran in the Oct. 25 edition of NGI’s Daily Gas Price Index, titled “El Paso Posts Solid Earnings, But Special Charges Lower Profits,” some comments were incorrectly attributed to El Paso Merchant Energy Group President Ralph Eads III. The comments were made by Greg Jenkins, CEO of El Paso Global Networks. The comments also contained some inaccuracies. Jenkins said, “The [global network business] has deteriorated much more over the course of the past several weeks and few months. The regulatory environment in our judgement is viewed unfavorably against real competition, and today the market fundamentals are very weak. Consequently we are reducing our focus [on telecommunications]. Our focus next year is going to be on those activities where that value is recognizable, that being the Texas market in particular, and maximizing returns on those assets.” Jenkins’ was not referring to the merchant generation business, and El Paso Corp. has reaffirmed its confidence in merchant generation and its position in that market. NGI regrets the errors.
Williams Launches uE Web Site For Cross Commodity Pricing
Tulsa-based Williams on Monday launched uE, a cross-commodity price index for both spot and future energy prices, as a companion to its web-based EnergyNewsLive.com. Similar to the Dow Jones for equity markets, the Williams uE will offer an equivalent benchmark for the overall price of energy, measuring the price average of eight individual commodities: electricity, natural gas, unleaded gasoline, heating oil, ethane, propane, residual fuel and jet fuel.