Look

Virginia’s State Corporation Commission (SCC) said it plans touse the full 180 days allowed by Virginia law before ruling onDominion Resources’ merger with CNG. The announcement was made justtwo weeks after CNG cited fewer potential regulatory problems as amain reason for selecting the Dominion bid over a hostile offerfrom Columbia Energy Group (See Daily GPI, May 13). If the SCCtakes the full 180 days, a decision would not be reached until Nov.17.

When things just started to look like they were getting better,all of a sudden they just got worse for MCN Energy Group. After atough year in 1998 and the planned divestiture of its entireexploration and production division, MCN Energy Group said lastweek it discovered serious financial accounting manipulation withinits gas marketing subsidiary, CoEnergy Trading, and will have torecalculate its earnings going back to 1997.

When things just started to look like they were getting better,all of a sudden they just got worse for MCN Energy Group. After atough year in 1998 and the planned divestiture of its entireexploration and production division, MCN Energy Group saidyesterday it has discovered serious financial accountingmanipulation within its gas marketing subsidiary, CoEnergy Trading,and will have to recalculate its earnings going back to 1997.

Those bemoaning the lack of a competitive market for electricityin California should look on the bright side. Things are movingalong, and the process is not finished, said Daniel D. Richard Jr.,senior vice president government and regulatory relations forPacific Gas and Electric.

A casual observer of yesterday’s market would look at the tighttrading range, low volatility and unchanged settlement and concludeit was a quiet trading day at the New York Mercantile Exchangewhere neither bull nor bear prevailed. But beneath February’s4-cent trading range and $1.714 settlement price, a battle waswaged as commercial traders in opposing camps, unencumbered bylocals who have largely moved on to March dealings, trieddesperately to influence a move in their direction. And so, as asource from a mid-sized gas marketer lamented, “the big boys wereat it again.”

Producers who may have been tempted to sing a few (paraphrased)bars of “It’s beginning to look a lot like winter” upon seeingTuesday’s weather reports probably stifled the urge after cashprices at most points fell by widely varying amounts. The softnessoccurred despite cold to very cold temperatures pervading almostevery part of Canada and the U.S.

A former “wild card” in the outlook for Canada’s biggest energymarket is starting to look like an ace for natural gas that willpay off for American as well as Canadian suppliers, according tonew evidence before the National Energy Board. The NEB has beentold a healthy growth market for gas is developing fast as a resultof Ontario Hydro’s shutdowns of nuclear power generators andelectricity deregulation. According to the evidence a C$1.7-billion(US$1.2-billion) chain of gas-fired power projects is rising fromthe ashes of the Crown Corp.’s crumbling monopoly and troublednuclear facilities.

The International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), based in London,accepted an offer from NYMEX last week to look into a possiblemerger, which would create a “single global energy exchange.” Anagreement to join the exchanges would affect companies which sellcommodities internationally in both markets. The domestic gasmarkets in both countries, however, would see little impact.

Prices continued to deteriorate Tuesday for much the same reasonas in the previous couple of trading days: weather that’s cool butnot sufficiently cold to generate significant heating demand. Therewasn’t even much cooling load left in Texas after astorm-generating cold front that had knocked out phone service indowntown Tulsa for several hours Monday got as far south asHouston.