Indicated

Sempra Energy indicated Tuesday it will comply with a California Superior Court Judge’s ruling in San Diego that the energy holding company and more than two dozen other energy suppliers turn over 100 hours of tape recordings of natural gas trading operations during the state’s 2000-2001 energy crisis that has spawned numerous lawsuits. The case brought by California municipalities and other large gas users is one of many consolidated under Judge Ronald Prager.

EnCana Corp., which at one time indicated that it wanted to become a leading North American natural gas storage operator, said last week that following a “strategic review” by the board of directors, it will sell nearly all of its gas storage business — 174 Bcf of capacity at five facilities in Alberta, California and Oklahoma — through a competitive auction or an initial public offering (IPO).

EnCana Corp., which at one time indicated that it wanted to become a leading North American natural gas storage operator, said Monday that following a “strategic review” by the board of directors, it will sell nearly all of its gas storage business — 174 Bcf of capacity at five facilities in Alberta, California and Oklahoma — through a competitive auction or an initial public offering (IPO).

Sources indicated that storage injection season is already well under way before what is usually considered its traditional start date — April 1. That demand source, along with continuing solid screen support, were cited as reasons why Thursday’s start of the April aftermarket saw even bigger price jumps in most cases than the one with which March business ended Wednesday.

California environmental officials indicated last Tuesday that they asked Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to step up its more than year-long efforts to keep toxin-laced groundwater from its natural gas transmission pipeline operations near the California-Arizona border from seeping into the nearby Colorado River, which is a major source of drinking water for 18 million people in Southern California. Tainted groundwater from a nearby compressor station reportedly has gotten within 60 feet of the river, according to a Los Angeles Times news report.

Just days after financier Carl S. Icahn and Icahn Partners indicated they intend to buy 2-9% of the company, Kerr-McGee Corp. on Wednesday said it has hired an investment bank to consider selling its chemicals business.

Two published reports Friday indicated that the third largest oil and natural gas company in China was considering a takeover bid to acquire all or part of Unocal Corp. Both the Wall Street Journal and London’s Financial Times said that China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) was considering making a bid of more than $13 billion for the El Segundo, CA-based company. Unocal is ranked as the ninth largest U.S. energy company in terms of reserves. According to sources, the state-owned CNOOC has asked financiers to study taking over the entire company and then selling the U.S. assets. The Journal cited unnamed sources and called CNOOC’s interest “highly preliminary.” Unocal had no comment on the reports.

Reflecting similar sentiments expressed around Wall Street, a Calpine Corp. executive indicated last Tuesday that declining wholesale natural gas prices are not likely to happen anytime soon, and in the longer run, imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and eventual Alaskan supplies won’t necessarily dampen prices as many industry observers have been predicting.

Reflecting similar sentiments expressed around Wall Street, a Calpine Corp. executive indicated Tuesday that declining wholesale natural gas prices are not likely to happen anytime soon, and in the longer run, imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and eventual Alaskan supplies won’t necessarily dampen prices as many industry observers have been predicting.