Others

Los Angeles, CA–(NGI News)–Nov 26, 2003–A California Superior Court in San Diego is expected to rule the first week of December in the $1.6 billion settlement between El Paso Corp. and four western states, the principal one being California. Two separate court approvals are needed before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission-approved deal can be made final, both of which could come before the end of the year.

Like others in the natural gas industry, market centers/hubs serving North America have gone through a rough patch in recent years, but most have managed to prosper by quickly adapting to changes in the market, according to a new report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA said transportation volumes and overall business activity by market centers in mid-2003 either equaled or surpassed previous levels.

Like others in the natural gas industry, market centers/hubs serving North America have gone through a rough patch in recent years, but most have managed to recover, according to a new report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA said transportation volumes and overall business activity by market centers in mid-2003 either equaled or surpassed previous levels.

After battling through a third quarter that brought a cooler than normal close to summer and numerous asset impairments, many electric utilities posted lower than expected earnings, while few managed to outdo their results from last year.

While the Energy Information Administration (EIA), among others, has thrown in some last minute challenges to the efficacy of government support for an Alaska gas pipeline, industrial consumers Wednesday charged that the energy bill being constructed in Congress completely misses the point of how to serve the nation’s need for natural gas.

With U.S. natural gas and oil production declining nearly 9% in the second quarter, and worldwide oil-equivalent production down 4% for the same period, ChevronTexaco Corp. (CVX) on Friday announced plans to sell $1 billion to $2 billion in assets each year for the next few years to improve its profitability.

The third largest major, which posted a quadruple profit in the quarter, expects to sell about 400 fields in North America, as well as interests in Papua New Guinea and the North Sea, according to CEO Dave O’Reilly. However, he noted that worldwide, CVX has a “significant and growing resource base of about 50 billion boe.”

Agreeing on some points and differing on others, meteorologists and forecasters are scrambling to diagnose the remaining months of summer. “The last 10 days of June are showing the true nature of the summer temperature and pattern ideas where they are hooked up with each other,” said AccuWeather Expert Senior Meteorologist Joe Bastardi. “Time will tell.”

UBS Warburg analyst Ronald J. Barone on Monday raised his Henry Hub gas price forecast for the year to $5.85 from $5.15/MMBtu because of continued low storage levels, deliverability issues and expected strong demand from power generators this summer. But in a separate report analyst Stephen Smith of Stephen Smith Energy Associates said the market appears to be missing the potential for some large storage injections this summer due to demand destruction. Smith sees a need for a downward correction in prices.