Margin

For the fourth time in a little more than a month, the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) announced margin increases on Wednesday for its natural gas futures, Henry Hub swap futures, Nymex miNY natural gas futures, Henry Hub swing swap futures, and Henry Hub penultimate swap futures contracts, effective at the close of business on Thursday (see Daily GPI, Aug. 17; Aug. 26; Aug. 30).

Long-awaited omnibus energy legislation is headed to the White House after it cleared the Senate by a nearly three-to-one margin Friday and was voted out by the House a day earlier, crossing the finishing line ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline set by President Bush.

Breaking a four-year logjam, the House on Thursday approved by a wide margin sweeping energy legislation that overhauls the U.S. energy policy for the first time in more than a decade.

A lower utility margin due to warmer weather and customer conservation because of high wholesale natural gas prices led to a 4% decline in Charlotte, NC-based Piedmont Natural Gas’ second quarter 2005 net income. Net income slipped to $39.6 million, or $0.52/share, from $41.3 million. or $0.54/share, posted for the same period in 2004.

A lower utility margin due to warmer weather and customer conservation because of high wholesale natural gas prices led to a 4% decline in Charlotte, NC-based Piedmont Natural Gas’ second quarter 2005 net income. Net income slipped to $39.6 million, or $0.52/share, from $41.3 million. or $0.54/share, posted for the same period in 2004.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last Thursday voted out by a wide margin an omnibus energy bill, but it won the overwhelming support only by putting off some of the more controversial amendments involving the moratorium on drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), siting authority over liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals anda renewables’ mandate for electricity production until the floor debate on the measure, which is likely to occur in June.

The House last Thursday passed by a wide margin far-reaching energy legislation after beating off attempts by Democrats to expunge provisions that award FERC sole authority over the siting of liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, offer oil and gas producers royalty relief, open up the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to exploration and production activities, and provide manufacturers of the gasoline addition methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) liability protection from lawsuits for groundwater contamination. The Republican-crafted bill was a major victory for President Bush, who has backed drilling in ANWR as part of his national energy policy.

The House on Thursday passed by a wide margin Republican-crafted omnibus energy legislation that gives energy companies multi-billion dollar tax breaks, clarifies that FERC has sole authority over the siting of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals and lays the groundwork for oil and natural gas exploration and production to begin on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The House bill is a major victory for President Bush, who has backed drilling in ANWR as part of his national energy policy.

By a narrow margin, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last Tuesday voted out a final rule that will increase the agency’s ability to detect fraud and other wrongdoing in the hedge fund market, a rapidly growing segment of the financial market that has been increasing its presence in the energy markets but for the most part has been free of regulation over the years.