Move

In a move to improve organization and reduce overlap, AquilaEnergy laid off all 34 members of its industrial gas sales team.Their work will be picked up by Aquila’s commercial gas sales team,located in Columbus, OH.

In a stunning move designed to send a message to otherwhite-collar criminals, a D.C. federal court judge last weekremanded Nicholas J. Bush, former president of the Natural GasSupply Association (NGSA), to a halfway house pending sentencing ontwo felony charges for embezzling $2.8 million from the producergroup. The judge took this action after Bush pleaded guilty to thecharges.

In a stunning move, a D.C. federal court judge yesterdayremanded Nicholas J. Bush, former president of the Natural GasSupply Association (NGSA), to a halfway house pending sentencing ontwo felony charges for embezzling $2.8 million from the producergroup. Bush had pleaded guilty.

California regulators are scheduled to move natural gas industryrestructuring a few more notches forward this week, but not withoutmaking still more modifications as suggested by additional commentsfiled last week.

California regulators are scheduled to move natural gas industryrestructuring a few more notches forward this week, but not withoutmaking still more modifications as suggested by additional commentsfiled last week.

Prices failed to move much more than a penny or two up or downMonday at most eastern points, but power generation load was strongenough to support moderate upticks in the West. Trading activitywas slow for both June swing and July gas, said a marketer who sawGulf Coast pipes come off 3-4 cents from their early-morning highs.Cash was essentially waiting for something to happen, he added,”because neither it [cash market] nor the screen is going anywherethese days.”

While analysts consider Devon Energy Corp.’s planned acquisition of PennzEnergy Co. a smart move, PennzEnergy investors are smarting over what they consider too low a price.

Defying the conventional wisdom that lower gas demand over aweekend usually causes softer prices, cash prices put on a show ofstrength Friday with nearly all points rising by a nickel or more.An increase of less than a penny in the Henry Hub futures contractprovided little support for the cash market, so sources concludedit must have been the residual effect from Thursday’s screen run-upof nearly a dime that helped push up cash quotes Friday.

Feeding off momentum gained in both the regular and accesstrading sessions Wednesday, the futures market muscled higheryesterday as the May contract notched its highest price since lastNovember. After gapping higher to open at $2.215, May traded mostlysideways Thursday morning before an early afternoon buying surgemapped out yesterday’s high price at $2.23. The contract finishedjust off that level at $2.225, a 5.1-cent advance on the day.