Major

Thunder Creek Gas Services LLC, a joint venture of KN Energy andDevon Energy, has completed construction on a major new gatheringtrunkline designed to meet the expanding production in Wyoming’sPowder River Basin, which is being touted as the “most active”coal-bed methane play in the nation.

Thunder Creek Gas Services LLC, a joint venture of KN Energy andDevon Energy, has completed construction on a major, new gatheringtrunkline designed to meet the expanding production in Wyoming’sPowder River Basin, which is being touted as the “most active”coal-bed methane play in the nation.

A major pipeline group last week sought rehearing of FERC’sremand decision on Sea Robin Pipeline on the grounds that it failedto include the “behind-the-plant” factor when determining thejurisdictional status of the offshore gas pipeline.

Following in the footsteps of gas pipelines, major producershave asked the federal government to reject an independentproducer-backed petition that seeks to have tariffs imposed oncrude oil imports from four foreign countries accused of illegaldumping.

Aquila Energy landed a whopper supply deal last week withChicago-based ComEd, one of the largest electric utilities in thecountry. The contract is for up to 625,000 Dth/d and Aquila said itis the largest single natural gas contract that has ever beenarranged in the energy industry. Although terms of the one-yeartransaction were not released, marketing sources and NGI’s pricingstaff confirmed the deal is tied to NGI’s Chicago cash index, oneof the most widely used indexes in the industry.

Enron Energy Services (EES) inked its second major energymanagement outsourcing contract in the last three months Tuesday,as Suiza Food Corp., a Dallas-based manufacturer and distributor ofdairy products, agreed to receive comprehensive energy managementservices at more than 50 manufacturing facilities in 24 states.Although no amounts were disclosed, Enron did say the ten-year dealis its biggest outsourcing contract.

Aquila Energy landed a whopper supply deal yesterday with ComEd.The contract is for up to 625,000 Dth/d of gas to be delivered toChicago. Aquila said it is the largest single natural gas contractthat has ever been arranged in the energy industry and certainlythe largest gas deal Aquila has ever signed. Although terms of theone-year transaction were not released, marketing sources and NGI’spricing staff confirmed the deal is tied to NGI’s Chicago cashindex, one of the most widely used indexes in the industry.

A major environmental group in New England foresees a “fairlyimmediate” need for expansion of two new pipelines in the regionand for “significant” additional pipe capacity to satisfy thenatural gas demands of power plants that are planned for that area.

Warm temperatures in major eastern cities and apprehension aboutthe possibility of “another bullish storage report” gave bulls thereason to buoy the market higher yesterday, and they did notsquander the opportunity. Buying, led mainly by commercial traders,sent the July contract up to a retest of its previous open outcrysession high of $2.41 before settling at $2.407. Estimated volumewas 73,884.