Party

Sonat said the offshore Main Pass 72 receipt point was shut in due to a leak on a third-party pipeline between the platform and Sonat’s line. A crew was on-site Friday to investigate the leak. Due to this work, Sonat was not scheduling gas from the point effective with Friday’s evening cycle until further notice.

The House Appropriations Committee, in a vote that split closely along party lines, last week rejected an amendment forwarded by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) that would have instituted cost-of-service rates for electricity sold at wholesale in the western region.

The departure of Sen. James Jeffords from the Republican Party, declining natural gas prices and the absence of hot weather are beginning to ripple throughout the energy industry, with many of the leading energy stocks dipping lower last week and creating an “increasingly selective” investing environment, said Merrill Lynch analyst Donato J. Eassey Thursday.

The departure of Sen. James Jeffords from the Republican Party, declining natural gas prices and the absence of hot weather are beginning to ripple throughout the energy industry, with many of the leading energy stocks dipping lower last week and creating an “increasingly selective” investing environment, said Merrill Lynch analyst Donato J. Eassey Thursday.

The rumored exit of Sen. James M. Jeffords (R-VT) from the Republican Party would put the Democrats in majority control of the Senate for the first time since the early 1990s, handing them the chairmanship positions, including the reins over energy-related committees and subcommittees that have jurisdiction over key legislation and appointments.

Still a little hung over from Wednesday’s 24-cent bull-party,natural gas traders elected to cool their heels yesterday, leavingthe market to quietly check to either side of unchanged. The Junecontract finished at $3.71, up 2.1 cents on the day.

Northern Natural Gas completed repairs and restored serviceWednesday after damage by a third party caused a force majeuresituation Tuesday on its East Leg. Line pressure was reduced andservice was curtailed temporarily downstream of Belleville(Lafayette County, WI).

In an attempt to decide between buying third-party capacity orbuilding the facilities to generate the capacity itself, FloridaPower Corp. issued an RFP yesterday, seeking bids from companiesinterested in generating 530 MW for the electric company beginningin Nov. 2003.

Thursday’s trading confirmed the signs from Wednesday that therecent bullishness in swing prices had reached a peak. Although afew points were flat to 2-3 cents higher Thursday, the majorityfell by several cents, with the greatest weakness occurring in theMidcontinent/Midwest and Southwest markets. Cash anticipated afutures downswing and beat the screen to the punch by starting tosoften earlier, a Midcontinent marketer said, although Nymextraders eventually wound up the day with a small gain.