Moribund

Going from moribund to dead, a proposed 1 Bcf/d liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Long Beach Harbor along the Southern California coast was officially dropped Friday with the sponsor Mitsubishi Corp. notifying FERC. It had been barely breathing since a California Superior Court judge in Los Angeles refused to force the port to complete a final environmental assessment of the proposal (see Daily GPI, May 28).

Although it acknowledged political and regulatory factors that continue to be uncertain, Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services reported last Thursday sighting “signs of life” in California’s private-sector utilities. The uncertainties that still cloud the state’s energy picture go well beyond the outcome of the proposed new settlement plan for bankruptcy-bound Pacific Gas and Electric Co., according to S&P brief analysis, “California’s Utilities: Another Step Forward?”

After being limited to a moribund 2.5-cent range Wednesday, theMarch futures contract snapped back to life yesterday as bulls andbears took turns exerting their influence on the market, which ledto a 7.5-cent trading range. Thursday’s 3-cent setback andsubsequent $1.746 settle would be considered an almost non-eventamid typical winter volatility, but the move was a welcome changeto traders who have grown weary of the slight moves and tighttrading ranges over the past month. Those traders reactedaccordingly, burgeoning estimated volume to 86,227.