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The cash market recorded double-digit declines across the board Friday as the list of negative influences already in effect — moderate to cool weather in nearly every area, prior-day screen softness, splitting-at-the-seams storage inventories and the long-standing absence of a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico — was supplemented by the big reduction of industrial load that affects trading for a weekend.

With two A-rated major California utilities and a long list of large natural gas supply and delivery projects, San Diego-based Sempra Energy carries the expectation of “consistent and predictable” financial performance in the months and years ahead, according to an analysis affirming its overall credit ratings and “stable” outlook by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, which was released Thursday. S&P San Francisco-based analyst Swami Venkataraman completed the analysis. The utilities provide stability to balance Sempra’s large energy trading and other unregulated businesses, S&P said. S&P gives Sempra an overall “BBB+” corporate credit rating and “A” ratings for Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas and Electric Co. All individual debt issue ratings in the Sempra Energy family of companies were affirmed, too, S&P said. Cash flow and debt coverage ratios that have been dampened in recent years during the developmental phases of several major liquefied natural gas (LNG) and interstate gas pipeline projects are expected to begin improving significantly in 2008 when some of the projects begin coming on line, S&P’s Venkataraman said. “We expect consistent and predictable financial performance at the utilities and Sempra Generation, Venkataraman said. “Consolidated cash flow coverage ratios are expected to be somewhat weak for the rating in 2006 and 2007, given that Sempra is investing substantial sums in its LNG and pipeline[storage] businesses in these years without any cash flows. However, ratios are expected to improve significantly from 2008 once LNG and pipeline cash flows commence.”

With two A-rated major California utilities and a long list of large natural gas supply and delivery projects, San Diego-based Sempra Energy carries the expectation of “consistent and predictable” financial performance in the months and years ahead, according to an analysis affirming its overall credit ratings and “stable” outlook by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, which was released Thursday. S&P San Francisco-based analyst Swami Venkataraman completed the analysis.

The usual suspects — BP plc, ConocoPhillips, Sempra Energy, Coral and Chevron — once again led NGI’s Top 20 List of North American natural gas marketers for 1Q2006. But a closer look at the numbers and recent headlines reveal an evolving cast of characters. Sempra tumbled from its long-held second spot, ConocoPhillips, Coral and Louis Dreyfus showed strong sequential gains, and big-time U.S. gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp. edged into the rankings.

The New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) announced Monday that it will list an option on the October 2007/January 2008 intermonth spread for natural gas calendar spread options contracts, beginning Tuesday. This is in addition to the current listing of 24 consecutive options on one-month spreads. Options on spreads between the first and third nearby months, the first and fourth nearby months, the second and fourth nearby months, as well as the spreads between the first nearby June to the first nearby December, first nearby December to first nearby June, the first nearby December to the second nearby December, first nearby October to the first nearby January, the first nearby April to the second nearby October and the first nearby October to the second nearby April contracts will continue to be listed for natural gas calendar spread options.

San Antonio-based Tidelands Oil & Gas, a small Texas pipeline company with big plans for Mexico’s northeastern gas industry, has added its name to the growing list of companies vying to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals offshore Southern California.

Sens. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Chris Dodd of Connecticut have added their names to the expanding list of Democrats calling for Congress to impose a windfall profits tax on major oil companies.

Laying out a list of what he says still needs to be done in order to bolster demand response (DR) in the U.S., FERC Chairman Patrick Wood said that in planning, DR “should be considered to be an equal resource” with generation and transmission.

The New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) will be listing a new sixth year of natural gas futures, options and swaps contracts starting after the December 2005 contract expires next year. The contracts will be listed for the current calendar year plus the next five calendar years for a maximum of 72 consecutive months.