Interested

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and Sempra Pipelines & Storage launched two separate binding open seasons Wednesday to test market interest in an expansion and extension of EnCana’s Entrega Gas Pipeline system, which Kinder Morgan and Sempra plan to buy as part of their $3 billion Rockies Express Project, planned to carry gas from the terminus of Entrega in northern Colorado more than 1,300 miles to the Clarington Hub in eastern Ohio.

The House Resources Committee on Wednesday voted out by a 3-to-2 margin legislation that would permit interested coastal states to opt out of existing moratoriums on oil and natural gas drilling on the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and would authorize drilling in the northern coastal region of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Co. is holding a nonbinding open season through July 1 for parties interested in acquiring firm storage service, and firm transportation service if required, through the construction of new facilities on its system.

A decision by Dynegy Inc. to pull out of a tolling agreement last month will result in lower-than-expected earnings this year and could lead to a $391 million net loss in 2005, the company said Wednesday. Earnings in 2004 are expected to range between $2 million and $22 million (1-6 cents/share), well below an earlier forecast of $75-95 million (20-25 cents).

A decision by Dynegy Inc. to pull out of a tolling agreement last month will result in lower-than-expected earnings this year and could lead to a $391 million net loss in 2005, the company said Wednesday. Earnings in 2004 are expected to range between $2 million and $22 million (1-6 cents/share), well below an earlier forecast of $75-95 million (20-25 cents).

Mexico’s state-owned oil and gas monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) opened its second round of tender offers for companies interested in exploring for natural gas in the Burgos Basin. Pemex will take bids on four new blocks in the region located south of Texas. Through its multiple-service contracts, which allow international companies to take part in exploration, Pemex last year awarded tenders for five blocks in the basin. The contracts are part of Mexico’s plan to halve the country’s gas imports by 2007. Last year, Mexico’s gas output totaled 4.4 Bcf/d. Pemex will take bids for the Pandura-Anahuac and Ricos blocks through Oct. 26. Tenders for the Pirineo and Monoclonal blocks will begin Aug. 17 and will be taken through Nov. 23. In total, Pemex said the contracts are worth $2.7 billion.

The biggest issue in natural gas price reporting today is the lack of liquidity, or low level of fixed price trading in the monthly market due mainly to the loss of the middleman marketers, price survey publishers told attendees at GasMart/Power 2003 Wednesday.

The National Energy Board is seeking feedback from interested parties on a discussion paper outlining its proposed Appropriate Dispute Resolution (ADR) program. The document describes options for settling disputes as an addition to the board’s traditional regulatory process. The board is welcoming the public’s input, comments and questions on all aspects of the design of the program and the contents of the ADR document. Comments received by Nov. 5 will assist in developing program guidelines. The ADR discussion paper are available on the board’s web site at www.neb-one.gc.ca under “What’s New.”

Portland, OR-based Northwest Natural Gas Corp. told state regulators Thursday that it’s still interested in buying Portland General Electric, which bankruptcy-mired Enron Corp. still wants to sell. The gas utility made these points in a strongly worded response to questions raised in the ongoing state regulatory proceedings by large industrial customers who recently recommended the state proceedings be suspended, pending more clarity from Enron’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in a New York federal court.