Point

All the signs in the energy merchant sector point to “falling business plans” for a couple of companies, “if not bankruptcy,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Peter Rigby in a report on the future prospects for traders. “Few doubt that one or more energy merchant companies may soon file for bankruptcy. Signals are appearing and getting stronger.”

All the signs in the energy merchant sector point to “falling business plans” for a couple of companies, “if not bankruptcy,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Peter Rigby in a report last week on the future prospects for traders. “Few doubt that one or more energy merchant companies may soon file for bankruptcy. Signals are appearing and getting stronger.”

Due to the current interdependency of the U.S. economy, an attack at a key point along a pipeline could actually disrupt communications, information technology and power, as well as the petroleum and natural gas supplies that run through the pipes, according to Bobby R. Gillham, manager of global security for Conoco Inc. Environmental concerns over the past 20 years have forced interstate pipelines to not only carry natural gas and liquid petroleum products, but also fiber optic cable for communications, and power lines, which are run in the same rights of way, he said.

Due to the current interdependency of the U.S. economy, an attack at a key point along a pipeline could actually disrupt communications, information technology and power as well as the petroleum and natural gas supplies that run through the pipes, according to Bobby R. Gillham, manager of global security for Conoco Inc. Environmental concerns over the past 20 years have forced interstate pipelines to not only carry natural gas and liquid petroleum products, but also fiber optic cable for communications, and power lines are run in the same rights of way, he said.

“Flat” was the word of the day in the gas market Thursday. No point varied by more than a nickel from unchanged, and a large majority of them either showed no change or were up or down by only a penny or two.

End-of-the-year assessments of California’s roller-coaster ride along energy restructuring point to a lack of consensus among the state’s leaders and industry stakeholders about what the state’s future framework for electricity in particular should look like. A report over the holiday week in the Los Angeles Times reported a split between the state’s top regulator and state legislator over who should take the next steps in shaping the state’s energy markets.

With little to no change in fundamental conditions and energy futures continuing to point downward, the cash market saw no reason to vary Wednesday from Tuesday’s precedent of mostly moderate declines. General price movement was more homogenized across regions yesterday, as drops of about a nickel to 20 cents or so characterized the softening for all but a few points.

Acknowledging that the natural gas industry had converged to a point with the power industry where it is now one energy industry, the Gas Industry Standards Board (GISB) has adopted a working model for a new organization that would set the rules and practices for wholesale and retail electricity along with natural gas markets. By a unanimous 25-0 vote, GISB formally expanded its purpose to permit the “consideration of electric wholesale and retail standards and model business practices.”

Panhandle Eastern plans a maintenance outage of the 100 Line from Louisburg to Houstonia for Thursday and Friday. The Pony Express point will be unavailable for 36 hours, affecting about 75 MMcf.