Outside

High U.S. heat levels outside the Northeast, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, a prior-day screen jump of 21.7 cents and the possibility of Tropical Storm Alberto being christened over the weekend pushed prices higher at a large majority of points Friday.

It’s still fairly cold in most markets early this week outside the southern tier of states, but some moderation of temperatures was in evidence as most points ranged from flat to down as much as 80 cents Monday. However, a fresh blast of cold air moving southward from Canada allowed Northeast citygates and some points in the Gulf Coast to continue the upward price trek they had launched in the last three trading days of last week.

Reaching outside the industry for someone with experience with troubled companies, Calpine Corp.’s board Monday named Robert P. May as the company’s new CEO and a member of the power plant operator’s board. May, 56, replaces Kenneth Derr, Calpine’s lead director and acting CEO for the past two weeks following the dismissal of the company’s founder/CEO and chief financial officer.

Forecasts of fairly pleasant early-fall weather virtually everywhere outside the southern edge of the U.S., coupled with reports that the damage to oil and gas infrastructure caused by Hurricane Rita wasn’t as bad as what had been expected, led to sharp price drops across the board Monday that were mostly in triple digits.

A “Safety Advisory Report” by the California Energy Commission (CEC) on Sound Energy Solutions’ (SES) proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Long Beach, CA, outside Los Angeles could be interpreted as restricting LNG terminal development in the state to remote sites. But the CEC staff director charged with producing the report cautioned readers not to draw that conclusion.

Much of the cash market emulated the March futures contract Thursday — barely budging from where it stood the day before. Outside of some sizeable drops at Northeast citygates, not many points ventured any farther than about a nickel up or down from flat. Weather turning milder again in several areas after going frigid at midweek was cited for the failure of most prices to extend Wednesday’s gains.

Ten former outside board members of Enron Corp. have agreed to use $13 million of their own money to pay part of a $168 million settlement with shareholders who had sued following the company’s bankruptcy.

A small but dramatic accident involving hazardous “sour” natural gas just outside the Alberta capital of Edmonton has left Canadian producers braced for more of their long and increasingly difficult campaign to keep access to a key supply source.

A small but dramatic accident involving hazardous “sour” natural gas just outside the Alberta capital of Edmonton has left Canadian producers braced for more of their long and increasingly difficult campaign to keep access to a key supply source.