Viking Gas Transmission’s proposed expansion of its existingsystem in Minnesota would have “no significant impact” onenvironmental conditions provided the pipeline follows certainmitigation measures during construction, according to a FERC staffenvironmental assessment (EA) released last week.
Initial
Articles from Initial
Aftermarket Slightly Lower But Firmer Than Expected
Although generally moving a little bit below index levels, theinitial February aftermarket proved stronger Monday than manytraders were expecting. Several points managed to stay flat toindex. Considering how little weather demand there was in majormarket areas and the difficulty some suppliers reported inscrounging up buyers, it was surprising how little price erosionthere was, a Texas marketer said.
Carolina Power Buys NC Natural Gas for $354 M
Seeking to become a “one-stop” energy shop and a larger regionalenergy company, Carolina Power and Light (CP&L) announced itsinitial entry into the gas industry with the acquisition of NorthCarolina Natural Gas (NCNG) through a stock-for-stock transactionworth $354 million. The agreement is still pending state regulatoryand shareholder approval, so no closing date has been announced.The acquisition reflects the strategy CP&L announced last Aprilto become “an organization with the potential to be a one-stopshopping service for our customers.”
Carolina Power Buys NC Natural for $354 M
Seeking to become a “one-stop” energy shop and a larger regionalenergy company, Carolina Power and Light (CP&L) announced itsinitial entry into the gas industry with the acquisition of NorthCarolina Natural Gas (NCNG) for $354 million in stock. Theagreement is still pending state regulatory and shareholderapproval, so no closing date has been announced.
Koch’s Market-Based Rates Shot Down at FERC
In a reversal of an ALJ initial decision viewed as potentiallyprecedent-setting, FERC last week denied market-based rates fortransportation to Koch Gateway Pipeline after finding it fell farshort of substantiating its claim that it lacked market power. Itmarked the first time that the Commission had considered a requestfor market-based transportation rates on a major long-haul gaspipeline. In 1996, FERC approved similar rate authority for K NInterstate Gas Transmission’s Buffalo Wallow system, but thatinvolved short-haul transportation.
DuPont to Spin Off Conoco by Year-End
DuPont’s board of directors approved the previously announcedinitial public offering (IPO) of Conoco common stock before the endof 1998. Following completion of the IPO, DuPont intends to offerits remaining Conoco shares to DuPont shareholders in exchange forDuPont shares in a tax-free split-off expected to be completedwithin 12 months.
NERC Not Sweating Y2K
Don’t worry. Be happy. Or at least don’t fret over electricpower reliability on New Year’s Eve 1999. The initial word is infrom the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC), andthings don’t look as bad as some would have thought.
Tropical Depression Spurs Initial Rig Evacuations
A tropical depression formed quickly Tuesday afternoon from whathad appeared to be no more than a disorganized bunch ofthunderstorms in the morning. A storm warning was issued forpractically the entire coast of Texas (Brownsville to High Island).Although a mid-afternoon spot check of some larger producersindicated mostly a “keeping an eye on things” attitude rather thanactual platform evacuations, it was likely that tentative planswere turning into concrete action that evening.
Aftermarket Starts Strong in West, Mixed in East
The initial September aftermarket was both above and belowbidweek levels at various Eastern points Monday but decidedlystronger to the West. One trader found Southern California bordernumbers mostly in the mid $2.10s, nearly a dime above bidweekaverages. The situation was similar for Malin and the PG&Ecitygate, which got a little extra boost from a low-inventoryPG&E OFO (see Transportation Notes). “It’s hot here inCalifornia,” said a source, adding it seemed “like everybody wasout buying today.”
Opinions Vary as Futures Bend, But Do Not Break
The futures market opened lower on Thursday, but aftersustaining an initial round of selling, the prompt month managed toclaw its way back up to $1.817, a 0.2 cent decline for the day.That left the September contract still perched just above long term support at $1.78 yesterday, trading within a narrow 4-cent range.Estimated volume registered an unremarkable 40,943.