Initial

An initial review undertaken by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seems to suggest the spike in natural gas prices in the Northeast and elsewhere last week was “fundamentally driven” by market forces, rather than abusive practices, said the head of the agency’s Office of Market Oversight and Investigations (OMOI) last Wednesday.

An initial review undertaken by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission suggests the spike in natural gas prices in the Northeast and elsewhere this week was “fundamentally driven” by market forces, rather than abusive practices, said the head of the agency’s Office of Market Oversight and Investigations (OMOI) Wednesday.

The newly formed Sempra LNG Corp. plans to acquire Dynegy Inc.’s proposed Hackberry, LA liquefied natural gas (LNG) project for an initial payment of $20 million and additional contingent payments based on development milestones and performance. Pending approvals, commercial operation of the planned 1.5 Bcf/d facility is scheduled for early 2007.

Magnum Hunter Resources Inc. said it expects combined initial daily rates of approximately 30 MMcfe production (gross) or 6.5 MMcfe net to Magnum Hunter when two new field discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico are placed on production.

Magnum Hunter Resources Inc. said it expects combined initial daily rates of approximately 30 MMcfe production (gross) or 6.5 MMcfe net to Magnum Hunter when two new field discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico are placed on production.

Independent midstream natural gas company Crosstex Energy LP launched a $40 million initial public offering on Thursday with two million common units trading in a tight range of $19.46-$20.99 and ending the day at $20.10 on the Nasdaq. The common units represent about 28% of the limited partner interest in the company, which operates more than 1,500 miles of pipeline, two processing plants, and 49 natural gas treating plants in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Louisiana. Crosstex currently provides services for over 700,000 MMBtu/d of natural gas.

Independent midstream natural gas company Crosstex Energy LP launched a $40 million initial public offering on Thursday with two million common units trading in a tight range of $19.46-$20.99 and ending the day at $20.10 on the Nasdaq. The common units represent about 28% of the limited partner interest in the company, which operates more than 1,500 miles of pipeline, two processing plants, and 49 natural gas treating plants in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Louisiana. Crosstex currently provides services for over 700,000 MMBtu/d of natural gas.

In a very broad initial decision issued last Tuesday, a FERC administrative law judge (ALJ) shot down nearly all of Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line’s arguments in support of rolled-in rates for several Southeast expansions of the pipeline’s system that were built in the late 1990s. Instead, he recommended incremental pricing of the projects, which requires only those customers who directly benefit from expansions to pay the costs.

A little over two months after it announced the initial agreement, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said Friday that it has completed its $258 million acquisition of Howell Corp., a Houston-based oil and gas exploration and production company (see Daily GPI, Oct. 1).