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Aftermarket premiums over first-of-month indexes got much smaller Wednesday when incremental numbers fell anywhere from a dime to about 30 cents. Most drops were between 15 cents and a quarter, with those in the Rockies tending to be smallest.

Off the beaten path of western energy and commerce superhighways, Elko, NV, is being left in the dust by natural gas pipeline and power plant developers since the wholesale market and many of its major practitioners suffered the retrenchment of the past 18 months.

After six years, the only thing that Millennium Pipeline sponsors can do is sit and wait. The 442-mile, 700 MMcf/d gas pipeline project from Lake Erie to New York City is supposed to be in service in November 2005, but a little known federal law has left the project in limbo.

After six years, the only thing that Millennium Pipeline sponsors can do is sit and wait. The 442-mile, 700 MMcf/d gas pipeline project from Lake Erie to New York City is supposed to be in service in November 2005, but a little known federal law has left the project in limbo.

Houston-based Reliant Resources said Friday it has decided to leave the financial gas trading business after it incurred an estimated $80 million pre-tax loss when it closed trading positions that were battered by high prices in late February.

Natural gas futures were caught in choppy trading action Thursday morning as bullish storage data met head on with the market’s seasonal propensity to move lower in the first quarter of the year. After an initial dip failed to attract much follow-through selling, buyers managed to support the market throughout the rest of the session. March finished at $6.162, up 2.8 cents for the day.

Except for plunges in the Rockies, the market ended the week on a considerably stronger price note Friday than some had been expecting. A few Midcontinent pipes (Williams, NGPL-Midcontinent and Reliant-West) were close to either side of flat, but gains at other non-Rockies points ranged from a little less than a dime to more than a dollar (Algonquin citygate). A majority of the upticks were between a dime and a quarter, with much larger ones clustered in Northeast citygates.

Like the snowfall piling up in New England, long positions filled the natural gas pit on Thursday as bulls received yet another double-dose of supportive news in the form of fresh weather and storage (162 Bcf withdrawal) reports. By 11 a.m EST the January contract had blasted through the $5.00 mark. With sellers backing away, the prompt contract was able to continue higher in the afternoon to top out at a new 19-month continuation chart high at $5.15. January finished at $5.089, up 38 cents for the session.

An Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) judge has recommended that Austin, TX-based Santanna Energy Services be barred from selling natural gas to residential customers in Illinois and ordered to pay refunds for overcharges. The full Commission, which has the option to either accept or reject the judge’s proposed action, is expected to take up the matter either later this month or in early November.