Level

Energy companies are constrained in various ways on every level— exploration and development, generation and transmission,refineries and pipelines — and these barriers all point to theneed for the United States to shape an effective national energypolicy, said several speakers at the recent annual conference ofthe International Society of Energy Advocates.

Projecting that linepack would slip below its minimum targetlevel through Thursday, Pacific Gas & Electric issued asystemwide Stage 3 OFO, effective today until further notice. Theorder carries penalties of $5/Dth for negative daily imbalancesexceeding a 3% tolerance.

Anticipating linepack that would exceed its upper-level target,Pacific Gas & Electric issued a customer-specific OFO fortoday.

The Department of Transportation’s Office of Pipeline Safety(OPS) yesterday gave El Paso Natural Gas the go-ahead to restoreservice to its Line 1110 from Keystone Station through the PecosRiver Compressor Station in southeast New Mexico at restrictedlevels.

The decibel level of the cries to rollback California’s electricindustry deregulation was raised considerably last week withconsumer advocates, local and state elected officials, andregulators joining the growing chorus. There is the prospect forstate legislative hearings before the summer session ends inSeptember to look at possible changes in the state’s 1996electricity law.

After being thwarted in repeated attempts to punch through the$4.23 level during the first hour of trading, natural gas bullsturned in their horns Friday, giving way to light sellingthroughout the rest of the session. Limited to an extremely tight,7-cent range for the day, the August contract slipped 1.6 cents tofinish the week at $4.15.

“Wanted: entry-level workers, roustabouts, floorhands, mechanicsand electricians. Training, benefits provided.” It’s a virtualposting in drilling companies’ offices across North America.Unemployment is so low, and jobs so plentiful across nearly everyjob sector that finding potential employees who are willing to workfor low-end wages in the oil and gas industry has reached acritical stage.

“Wanted: entry-level workers, roustabouts, floorhands, mechanicsand electricians. Training, benefits provided.” It’s a virtualposting in drilling companies’ offices across North America.Unemployment is so low, and jobs so plentiful across nearly everyjob sector that finding potential employees who are willing to workfor low-end wages in the oil and gas industry has reached acritical stage.

The April swing market started to level off for the most partTuesday as price changes were dominated by flatness and smallincreases. The May bidweek remained slow in developing and featuredsome index-plus trading starting to turn into index-slightly minusdeals.