Noted

News of a tropical wave approaching the Caribbean Sea, generally warm to hot weather in most of the nation, the end of weekend OFOs on several pipes and the usual rebound in load following a long weekend were cited by sources in explaining Monday’s double-digit gains at nearly all points.

Western Gas Resources Inc. said its proved reserves as of Dec. 31, 2002 increased 24% to 588 Bcfe with additions net of revisions totaling 162 Bcfe and 114 Bcfe net of production. The company noted that it replaced 334% of 2002 production of 48.7 Bcfe and its net production increased 34% in 2002.

Abandoned chemical engineering projects, an exit from its forestry business and other asset impairments pushed Oklahoma City-based independent Kerr-McGee Corp. to a loss in the fourth quarter of 2002. For Occidental Petroleum Corp., however, strong production volumes and higher commodity prices helped the Los Angeles-based independent move into the black for the quarter.

California’s Gov. Gray Davis Tuesday prepared for the New Year by re-appointing Michael Peevey, 64, to the California Public Utilities Commission and appointing his current cabinet secretary, Susan Kennedy, 42, to another spot on the five-member CPUC. Both are appointed to six-year terms and their new positions are subject to state Senate confirmation.

With tropical storm threats fading rapidly and demand fundamentals staying on the weak side, cash prices ignored a major expiration-day rebound by October futures and continued to fall everywhere except in the Rockies Thursday. The Rockies gains were small at a dime or less, while losses elsewhere tended to range from about 2 cents in Northern California to nearly half a dollar at some Northeast citygates.

Ending an almost two-year-old argument over $6.8 million in levied penalties stemming from the winter of 2000-2001, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (VSCC) on Monday accepted a settlement between Columbia Gas of Virginia and its transportation customers, stating that the matter can now be part of the commission’s file for “ended causes.”

In a story that ran in NGI’s Daily Gas Price Index on Dec. 5, titled “Gas Sales Soar 24% in 3Q, but Enron Casts Dark Cloud Over Future,” NGI noted that BP is expected to expand its trading and marketing activities because of it purchase of TransCanada’s marketing operations in September. However, NGI failed to mention that Mirant actually is buying the larger portion of TransCanada’s marketing and trading business, a book covering about 5.1 Bcf/d of TransCanada’s first quarter sales of 7.9 Bcf/d. In September, BP Gas & Power bought TransCanada’s CanStates Gas Marketing, a contract to manage gas supply assets for SEMCO Energy Gas Co., and its marketing and trading operations in its Omaha, NE office. Mirant, however, will become the largest gas dealer in Canada and the top exporter as well with its TransCanada purchase. The deal raises Mirant’s profile in Canadian gas into the range of 6-7 Bcf/d and boosts its total North American gas sales to about 18.2 Bcf/d, which could put it at the top of the rankings in the fourth quarter. TransCanada, Canada’s largest natural gas transporter, exited the natural gas marketing business to focus on its core natural gas transportation and power businesses in Canada and the northern tier of the United States.

Northwest noted that despite putting its system into entitlementand issuing a realignment OFO, primary scheduled volumes throughKemmerer (WY) Station remain greater than physical capacity.Therefore, starting today the pipeline is invoking a “must-flowOFO” provision of its tariff. Until further notice, shippers withprimary corridor rights southbound through Kemmerer are required toflow up to 10% of their contract demand from receipt points northof Kemmerer to delivery points south of Kemmerer or take some othermutually agreeable action to alleviate the Kemmerer capacityproblem. See the Northwest bulletin board for details.

Northwest said it was unable to do its OFO calculationsyesterday and noted that scheduled quantities of gas flowing norththrough the Kemmerer Compressor for gas day Nov. 9 did not exceedKemmerer capacity. As a result it said it would not call an OFO forgas day Nov. 9. However it warned that an OFO was still possiblefor gas day Nov. 10.