Possibility

Among the short- and long-term items PG&E Corp is keeping on its plate are a soon-to-be-announced settlement of its 2007 general rate case, the possibility of pursuing development of a nuclear power plant outside of California and several nonutility electric and natural gas projects, PG&E CEO Peter Darbee said during a conference call with financial analysts Wednesday. Darbee also said he is not ruling out possible acquisitions in the future.

Despite the possibility that the first Atlantic tropical storm of the season could be identified over the weekend, natural gas futures on Friday actually settled lower. After trading in positive territory for a vast majority of the day, July natural gas futures slumped lower late Friday to close at $6.172, down 1.9 cents on the day and 45.1 cents lower than the previous week’s close.

Due to a little taste of winter-like cold returning to northern market areas and the possibility of early storage refills already getting under way, prices were up at nearly all points Monday.

With the worst of the latest blast of arctic cold having occurred over the holiday weekend and a modest warm-up under way, the cash market turned in a mixed performance Tuesday that was dominated by softening.

Moody’s Investors Service last week placed El Paso Corp. and its subsidiaries under review for a possible upgrade, reflecting the possibility the Houston-based company will reduce more of its debt in the near future than previously expected and because there are “signs of recovery” within its revamped exploration and production operations.

Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday placed El Paso Corp. and its subsidiaries under review for a possible upgrade, reflecting the possibility it will reduce more of its debt in the near future than previously expected and because there are “signs of recovery” in its exploration and production operations.

Whether you dismissed it as “storm hype” or considered it a justifiable reason for concern that hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast supplies faced the possibility of another major hit late this week, one thing was for certain. The Monday morning formation of Tropical Storm Wilma in the western Caribbean Sea was the primary reason for cash market spikes Monday that were around or exceeded a dollar in most cases.

There was a moderate bias to the downside in mixed cash pricing Wednesday, but a record prompt-month daily futures settlement and the possibility of offshore shut-ins posed by newly minted Tropical Storm Katrina were expected to unite all points in major moves higher Thursday.

El Paso warned customers Tuesday of the possibility that a Strained Operating Condition may need to be issued for Wednesday’s gas day, saying it is experiencing low linepack on the South Mainline and the Washington Ranch storage facility is experiencing maximum withdrawals. “Shippers can obtain supplies at Waha where capacity is operationally available,” the pipeline said.