Manufacturer

The near $7.50 price drop in near-month natural gas futures since the $15.780 price peak in mid-December is attracting demand back into the market. Fertilizer manufacturer Terra Industries said Wednesday that falling gas prices and other factors have enabled it to resume production of ammonia and upgraded products at its Woodward, OK, facility.

Top fertilizer manufacturer Terra Industries Inc. has indefinitely suspended all production at its Woodward, OK plant in the near term because of high natural gas costs. The shutdown is due to mechanical repairs and catalyst changes, but Terra will not resume production in the near term because the gas costs haven’t been offset by price increases in nitrogen products and methanol, the company said.

TXU Energy Services entered a five-year energy management agreement with Maytag Corp. — a leading manufacturer of appliances — that is expected to provide Maytag with significant savings on its energy expenditures. The deal follows an active February in which TXU entered two similar contracts (see NGI, Feb. 26). Under the agreement, TXU Energy Services will procure or negotiate contracts for commodities including natural gas, electricity, coal, fuel oil and propane, and provide consolidated billing and risk management for 14 Maytag manufacturing facilities. The deal also includes demand-side management assessments of energy equipment and analysis of potential energy efficiency improvements. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. “By consolidating and analyzing multiple bills for facilities in 10 different states and Mexico, we can identify problems and come up with individual changes that will help lower Maytag’s total utility costs,” explained Ken Breeden, president of TXU Energy Services commercial and industrial division. “Then we can look at the goals of each manufacturing plant, develop a program to meet those goals — including their tolerance for risk — and put together a risk management program for procuring the various types of fuel they need.” In late February, TXU signed a 10-year multi-million dollar agreement with Aperian Inc. to own, operate and maintain the mechanical and electrical energy equipment at Aperian’s five Internet data centers. Also last month, the company entered into a three-year, $100 million-plus comprehensive energy management contract with Bass Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of Bass PLC, to provide natural gas, electric and risk management services for 118 hotels. To date, the company is serving more than 8,000 customers in 33 states and has completed more than 3,500 energy management projects nationwide.

TXU Energy Services entered a five-year energy managementagreement with Maytag Corp. — a leading manufacturer ofappliances — that is expected to provide Maytag with significantsavings on its energy expenditures. The deal follows an activeFebruary in which TXU entered two similar contracts (see Daily GPI,Feb. 21)

Capstone Turbine Corp., developer and manufacturer ofmicroturbine power generators, says it has successfully tested a 30kW unit that can be used at the wellhead to generate power usingsour gas.

Capstone Turbine Corp., developer and manufacturer ofmicroturbine power generators, says it has successfully tested a 30kW unit that can be used at the wellhead to generate power usingsour gas.

Cabot LNG, the energy division of the Boston-based industrial chemical manufacturer Cabot Corp., will be separated from the parent company with the issuance of a targeted stock as part of slimming and trimming “value enhancement” initiatives announced recently.

Cabot LNG, the energy division of the Boston-based industrialchemical manufacturer Cabot Corp., will be separated from theparent company with the issuance of a targeted stock as part ofslimming and trimming “value enhancement”initiatives announcedrecently.