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Producers have stronger bottom lines than other sectors of the oil and gas industry, but high natural gas prices reflect falling U.S. production and the “hard time” exploration and production companies have to replace reserves of comparable or better quality at a competitive cost, said Moody’s Investors Service analysts. Moody’s analysts on Wednesday gave a “stable” rating to the entire sector, with the exception of oil refiners and wholesale marketing, which both carry a “negative” outlook.

Ready to get started on its Marquis natural gas project, Alberta-based Canadian Superior Energy Inc. said that it has awarded several drilling services contracts for the initial drilling on the project, which is located 100 miles offshore Nova Scotia. The company estimated the value of the combined contracts at C$12.8 million.

Republican and Democratic senators Tuesday drew lines in the sand over key amendments to strike a federal mandate for renewable energy from the omnibus energy bill (S. 517), and to regulate trading of over-the-counter (OTC) energy derivatives.

Guardian Pipeline has hired H.C. Price Co. to build its 142-mile, 750 MMcf/d pipeline system in Illinois and Wisconsin. H.C. Price, of Dallas, was selected in a competitive bidding process and will construct the pipeline in one spread, in which work will be done by a single construction crew over the entire length of the project. Murphy Bros. Inc., of Moline, IL, was selected to build Guardian’s 22,225-hp compressor station near Joliet.

The October aftermarket was dividing along geographical lines as it began Friday. Eastern points fell off sharply from both first-of-month indexes and end-of-September levels. However, except for mild Permian/Waha softness, the West was realizing gains in both of the aforementioned cases. Sources attributed the relative western firmness largely to the region’s having a near-monopoly on any hot weather remaining in the U.S.

The House Appropriations Committee, in a vote that split closely along party lines, last week rejected an amendment forwarded by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) that would have instituted cost-of-service rates for electricity sold at wholesale in the western region.

California Gov. Gray Davis “delivered” on his plan to buy outthe transmission systems of the financially-troubled investor-ownedutilities in the state Friday, outlining the framework of a deal,but with no dollar signs attached and no on-the-record agreementswith the utilities.

Williams has been selected in a “landmark transaction” toinstall the infrastructure, including gathering lines and onshoreprocessing, to service new deep water development in the Nansen andBoombang Fields in the East Breaks area of the Gulf of Mexico.

Williams has been selected in a “landmark transaction” toinstall the infrastructure, including gathering lines and onshoreprocessing, to service new deep water development in the Nansen andBoombang Fields in the East Breaks area of the Gulf of Mexico.