Middle

Although it didn’t seem likely as recently as the middle of last week, the market may be on the verge of a much-anticipated turnaround from its long slide. Except for Rockies/San Juan and California border-SoCalGas declines, Monday’s trading saw flat to moderately higher prices at most other points, and much higher ones at PG&E-related points struggling out of the abyss into which they had plunged following Friday’s stringent OFO.

No one can really predict the weather, “but at the rate winteris setting in, by the middle of February we’ll be where we usuallyare in April” in regard to natural gas in storage, according toThomas A. Petrie, chairman of Petrie Parkman & Co. in Denver.

Chicago-based Peoples Energy decided to eliminate the middle manlast week, purchasing an interest in 25 oil and natural gasproducing wells in South Louisiana and the Texas Gulf Coast regionfrom NBB Energy Partners LLP. The $18 million purchase makesPeoples Energy an operator of oil and gas properties for the firsttime in its history, with complete production responsibilities forthe purchased wells.

Chicago-based Peoples Energy decided to eliminate the middle manthis week, purchasing an interest in 25 oil and natural gasproducing wells in South Louisiana and the Texas Gulf Coast regionfrom NBB Energy Partners LLP. The $18 million purchase makesPeoples Energy an operator of oil and gas properties for the firsttime in its history, with complete production responsibilities forthe purchased wells.

What a difference a week can make. For the third time in fourdays the April futures contract tested, but was unable to breakbelow stubborn support in the $2.71-74 area, leaving traders littlechoice but to bid up futures despite warming temperatures andfalling cash prices. The April contract finished up an impressive5.3 cents at $2.847. This advance came on the heels of last week’sprice activity, which saw the April contract twice test equallystubborn resistance at the $2.88-90 level. Aside from one falsebreakout to $2.67, the spot contract has consolidated within the$2.70-90 area since March 1.

After beginning last week in the middle of a three-dayhigh-inventory OFO (see Daily GPI, June 22), Pacific Gas &Electric declared another one for Saturday after previously sayingit expected system linepack to remain well above the utility’starget through the weekend. The new order carried a positiveimbalance tolerance of 11% and penalties of $1/dth fornon-compliance.

Nominations for the trip to Chicago on Northern Border reached490 MMcf/d by the middle of last week, which shows the line hasbeen ramping up gradually since beginning service on Dec. 22. Butit still is about 175 MMcf/d short of being full. The 665 MMcf/dextension did not begin service near full capacity as pipelineofficials had predicted for a number of reasons, a spokeswomansaid. “The California market has been particularly strong the lastfew weeks. The delivery point at Sumas, WA, has been veryprice-positive for the Canadians so there’s been a huge amount ofgas going in that direction,” noted Northern Border’s Beth Jensen.There also was a set-back caused by water left in the linefollowing hydrostatic testing. “They did have some delivery pointsthat froze so we had to work those things out.” Unfortunately therewas a four-day period without gas flow just prior to bidweek, whichcreated market uncertainty entering the month and probably impactednominations. “The kinks in the system are being worked out,” shesaid. “Now nominations at Manhattan, IL, [into Peoples] are 340MMcf/d and at Minooka [into NiGas] are 150 MMcf/d. “Frankly I don’tthink the market in Chicago to this point has jelled. I think it’son its way to working out. But right now the market off of Ventura,IA, [into Northern Natural to Minnesota and western Wisconsin]seems to be as strong as anything. It’s been very cold up there.”Northern Border’s expansion/extension project increased take-awaycapacity at Ventura by 260 MMcf/d.