Indicative

Indicative of the complexity and breadth of the supply contracts being contemplated for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in the United States, a “cartel-like” pricing structure is likely to emerge as definitive deals come together, a New York City-based energy attorney told an energy conference in Santa Fe, NM, last Thursday. He also predicted offshore terminals may be easier to finance and permit in some areas on the East and West Coasts.

Indicative of the complexity and breadth of the supply contracts being contemplated for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in the United States, a “cartel-like” pricing structure is likely to emerge as definitive deals come together, a New York City-based energy attorney told an energy conference in Santa Fe, NM, on Thursday. He also predicted offshore terminals may be easier to finance and permit in some areas on the East and West Coasts.

Indicative of just how far the parent has gone in dispossessing a wayward child, the San Francisco-based energy utility holding company PG&E Corp. said in a financial filing last Wednesday that it will go to trial next year over a $361 million tax refund its bankrupt former merchant energy unit, PG&E National Energy Group (NEG), is claiming as its own.

Indicative of the continuing uncertainty about natural gas prices, the state of Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission Monday announced it has scheduled a meeting for June 27 to hear from the state’s four principal natural gas distribution companies about the outlook for winter supplies and prices in the Pacific Northwest.

Indicative of industry-wide trends in the same direction, Rosemead, CA-based Edison International’s senior executives told financial analysts Tuesday that the energy holding company is staking its future on restoring its traditional utility operations to full financial health.

Indicative of how insulated it has remained from the energy industry’s financial meltdown, Sempra Energy’s Southern California Gas Co. utility unit based in Los Angeles was given an A+ rating by Standard & Poor’s Wednesday for a $250 million bond re-funding offering. SoCalGas’s bonds are rated the same as S&P’s rates Sempra’s corporate credit.

Indicative of the continuing stalemate on what to do aboutCalifornia’s chronic power market woes, Sempra Energy’s CEO and thechairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission pushed forsharply different actions at an energy executive forum, “PowerCrisis in the West,” hosted by Massachusetts-based Xenergy.

Indicative of the demands placed on California’s aging fleet ofin-state natural gas-fired electricity generating plants in thelast half of 2000, Sempra Energy’s Southern California Gas Co.utility established its all-time sendout record of 1.142 Tcf,eclipsing the previous record year (1991) by almost 100 Bcf.

Indicative of the demands placed on California’s aging fleet ofin-state natural gas-fired electricity generating plants in thelast half of 2000, Sempra Energy’s Southern California Gas Co.utility established its all-time sendout record of 1.142 Tcf,eclipsing the previous record year (1991) by almost 100 Bcf.