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A continued decline in natural gas prices could pose one of the biggest threats to the credit quality of producers in the fourth quarter, according to a new Standard & Poor’s (S&P) report released last week.

A continued decline in natural gas prices could pose one of the biggest threats to the credit quality of producers in the fourth quarter, according to a new Standard & Poor’s (S&P) report released this week.

Two large city-run utilities in Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA, drew “AA-” credit ratings from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) Tuesday on more than $1.7 billion of revenue bonds they collectively are preparing to offer. Both utilities are viewed as strong with “stable” outlooks by S&P, which generally views double-A ratings as “very strong” and only slightly lower than its highest rating..

Natural gas use has to be part of any climate-friendly policy, but the industry so far has done a poor job of convincing a skeptical public that it can find, develop and deliver gas at a reasonable price without harming the environment, Questar Corp. CEO Keith O. Rattie said last week.

Natural gas use has to be part of any climate-friendly policy, but the industry so far has done a poor job of convincing a skeptical public that it can find, develop and deliver gas at a reasonable price without harming the environment, Questar Corp. CEO Keith O. Rattie said Tuesday.

The natural gas financing unit for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) received a credit rating upgrade (“AA-” from “A+”) from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) Thursday covering more than $750 million in fixed- and indexed-rate bonds. S&P set the outlook at “stable” for the Northern California Gas Authority, a special purpose vehicle for financing long-term gas purchases for SMUD’s power generation needs. The gas authority was created to issue bonds, the proceeds of which fund prepayment for 146 Bcf of gas scheduled for delivery over the next 20 years. The authority sells the gas supplies to SMUD at first-of-the-month index price, minus a predetermined discount. In turn, the gas authority’s floating index-based revenues from SMUD are exchanged through a commodity swap with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) for fixed amounts needed to pay interest and principal on the bonds. S&P said the upgrade reflects a July 30 upgrade of Morgan Stanley (AA-/Stable/A-1+), which guarantees the obligation of the gas authority’s supplier, Morgan Stanley Capital Group. Two other counterparties to the deals figured in the ratings change, S&P said: Royal Bank of Canada (RBC: AA-/Positive/A-1+) and MBIA Insurance Corp. (AAA/Stable). “The outlook could be revised to negative if the outlook on Morgan Stanley or the Canadian bank is revised to negative, and the ratings could be lowered if the ratings on Morgan Stanley, RBC, or MBIA are lowered to below ‘AA-‘,” said S&P analyst Kenneth Farer.

Six years after it was the center of an economic and energy meltdown, California’s latest public-sector energy financings are gaining improved reviews by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) and Moody’s Investors Service.

FERC last Tuesday signaled it may be forced to issue a “stop work order” to Rockies Express Pipeline LLC (REX) if the “poor compliance record” continues during the construction of the second segment of the Entrega Pipeline project. The Entrega project, renamed Rockies Express-Entrega, will be the western end of the proposed 1,663-mile Rockies Express pipeline when completed.

FERC Tuesday signaled it may be forced to issue a “stop work order” to Rockies Express Pipeline LLC (REX) if the “poor compliance record” continues during the construction of the second segment of the Entrega Pipeline project. The Entrega project, now named Rockies Express-Entrega, will be the western end of the proposed 1,663-mile Rockies Express pipeline when completed.