Mercantile

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. on Thursday cut 100 exploration and production (E&P) staff positions — including several senior executives — and closed its offices in Midland and Amarillo, TX, which will eliminate more than 15%, or $100 million, in total overhead costs. The cost cutting news preceded an earnings report that showed a 26% gain from a year ago, but changes had been rumored after the company confirmed two days ago that it would shutter some of its onshore U.S. rigs (see Daily GPI, July 30).

The New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) said it will delay by about a month the launch of its financially settled PJM weekly and daily electricity futures contracts to the afternoon of June 26, which starts the trade date of June 27. The delay will allow more time for electronic vendors, brokers and customers to complete the technical preparations needed to handle the new contracts, Nymex said.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved plans by the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) to offer three financially settled PJM electricity futures contracts, Nymex reported last Tuesday. The contracts are expected to be available in the first part of 2003.

Instead of charging a fee for using its new electronic trading system, the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) plans to pay traders for creating liquidity. Under the terms of the program, any participant who makes a bid or offer on the Nymex ClearPort network that is subsequently accepted will receive payment in lieu of an exchange fee.

The New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) said it will roll out its new electronic trading platform at 3:15 p.m. EST Thursday, with 34 futures contracts listed for trading at launch. The platform will be part of its new Clearport network, which also will include messaging architecture, a clearing services web site, confirmation services and future extensions of the exchange’s technological services.

The New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. said it set an annual volume record of 133.7 million futures and options contracts in 2002, smashing its previous record of 109.5 million contracts set in 1999. The 2002 volume also represented a 30% increase over the 103.1 million contracts traded in 2001.

A committee at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is mulling draft rules for a new set of financially settled electricity contracts that will be linked to PJM Interconnection’s locational marginal prices (LMP).

The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) said it plans to hold a special Nymex Access electronic trading session on Wednesday afternoon so that the natural gas futures market will be open during the release of the Energy Information Administration’s weekly natural gas storage report.

The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) opened a new 90-minute trading session on Friday for 32 new over-the-counter energy contracts, including multiple natural gas basis contracts and some new 400 MWh power contracts based on delivery in New York. Nymex said it also is providing clearing services for the new contracts.