Jumped

Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN), the former regional interstate natural gas pipeline company for PG&E Corp., jumped up five notches from a “CC” to “A-” credit rating under Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services’ system, reflecting its new standing as a wholly owned part of TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. However, S&P designated the pipeline’s outlook as “negative,” reflecting TransCanada’s own similar outlook and what the rating agency called “an above-average business profile and a somewhat weak financial profile.”

With Hurricane Ivan now seriously threatening Gulf of Mexico production, natural gas futures jumped off the charts Monday morning in preparation for the possibility of prolonged natural gas and oil rig shut-ins.

Following the announcement of a 72 Bcf storage injection, the June natural gas futures contract jumped 9 cents from $6.27 to trade at $6.36 as of 10:39 a.m, revisiting the high set on Tuesday. However, the contract then worked lower for the entire afternoon, trading within the $6.19-6.29 range, before settling at $6.219, down 9.1 cents on the day.

After starting the day at a session low of $5.780, the May natural gas futures contract on its farewell tour jumped to between $5.85-5.89 by mid-afternoon before attempting to test the $6 psychological mark at the session’s close. Reaching a high on the day of $5.970 with 100,449 contracts changing hands, the May contract expired at $5.935, up 6.1 cents on the day.

Industrial gas customers and Illinois utilities have jumped to the defense of Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL) in the wake of a FERC order, which they argue appears to restrict the ability of the Kinder Morgan pipeline to keep potentially dangerous high-Btu content natural gas from entering its system in production and market areas.

Industrial gas customers and Illinois utilities have jumped to the defense of Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL) in the wake of a FERC order, which they argue appears to have restricted the ability of the Kinder Morgan pipeline to keep potentially dangerous high-Btu content natural gas from entering its system in production and market areas.

Williams Companies shares jumped 5% last Tuesday and ended the week up 11% at $9.86/share after Merrill Lynch analysts Steve Fleischman and Sam Brothwell resumed coverage of the company with a “Buy” rating and a $12/share 12-month price target.

Williams Companies shares jumped 5% to $9.42/share Tuesday after Merrill Lynch analysts Steve Fleischman and Sam Brothwell resumed coverage of the company with a “Buy” rating and a $12/share 12-month price target.

Anadarko Petroleum shares jumped more than 5% Wednesday to $44.93 on a report by Reuters that the company has hired Credit Suisse First Boston to negotiate with potential buyers. Anadarko would not confirm the details of the report.