Interest

Concluding that the action was both “reasonable and in thepublic interest,” the Michigan Public Service Commission last weekapproved a request by Michigan Gas Utilities for a special gastransportation contract with Rock-Tenn Paperboard Products, one ofthe largest accounts on MGU’s system.

Rep. Tony Hall (D-OH) has introduced legislation to create anatural gas reserve to help stabilize the market during times oflow supply and high prices. The proposed reserve would be modeledafter the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and the Northeast HomeHeating Oil reserve, the latter of which allows heating oilsupplies to be drawn down during times of tight supply.

Buoyed by technical bullishness, combined with strong buyinginterest in the summer months, natural gas futures moved higherWednesday as buyers focused their buying not only on the promptmonth but also on the bargain-priced summer strip. The Marchcontract finished at $6.235, its 47.1-cent gain narrowly surpassingthe 37.5 advance achieved by the April-October strip.

Westcoast Energy exercised its option to sell its remaining 49%interest in NGX Canada (NGX), an electronic gas trading exchange,to OM Gruppen of Stockholm, Sweden. The deal is likely to lead to asignificant upgrade of the Canadian trading system possibly to acontinental system with multiple commodity offerings, according toits new owner.

Westcoast Energy exercised its option to sell its remaining 49%interest in NGX Canada (NGX), an electronic gas trading exchange,to OM Gruppen of Stockholm, Sweden. The deal is likely to lead to asignificant upgrade of the Canadian trading system possibly to acontinental system with multiple commodity offerings, according toits new owner.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is preparing legislation that wouldcall for a price cap to be imposed on wholesale electricitytransactions in the western region during emergency situations, anaide to the senator said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is preparing legislation that wouldcall for a price cap to be imposed on wholesale electricitytransactions in the western region during emergency situations, anaide to the senator said.

Because of interest in moving more natural gas from the prolificPiceance Basin in northwest Colorado to interconnects withNorthwest Pipeline Co. in Rio Blanco County, CO, and QuestarPipeline Co. in Utah, Colorado Interstate Gas has begun an openseason to solicit support for expanding its Parachute CreekLateral.

Vancouver-based Westcoast Energy Inc. has agreed to pay $75million to buy the 50% interest in Empire State Pipeline that itdoesn’t already own from Houston-based Coastal Corp. The deal givesWestcoast complete ownership of the 156-mile, 24-inch natural gaspipeline running along the U.S.-Canada border near Niagara Falls toSyracuse, NY interconnect points.