Possibility

A day after warning of its possibility, Florida Gas Transmission issued an Overage Alert Day notice Tuesday for its market area. The tolerance for negative daily imbalances was a fairly loose 20%.

Despite chilly weather forecasts and the possibility of another bullish storage report Thursday, natural gas futures shuffled lower Monday as traders alleviated overbought conditions following last week’s run to new two-year highs.

In much-watched oral arguments before FERC last Monday, California representatives decried El Paso Corp.’s attempts to “mightily” turn the high-profile complaint alleging market manipulation on the part of the company’s affiliates into a case involving pipeline safety.

The possibility that terrorists could use the Sept. 11 anniversary to attempt another attack against U.S. interests at home or abroad pushed the nation’s state of alert status to high risk for the first time since the system was enacted last spring. Attorney General John Ashcroft said the energy and transportation sectors were considered the most likely targets on Wednesday, and while most of the concern was about possible overseas attacks, private U.S.-based companies within the two sectors were also briefed.

There is a “strong” possibility that exploration and production (E&P) companies are timing ramped-up production to hit with the expected higher natural gas prices later this year, according to Raymond James’ Energy’s “Stat of the Week.” Analysts Marshall Adkins and James M. Rollyson had earlier predicted an earlier ramp-up because of the rise in prices over the spring, but a “number of factors” has led to an unexpected stagnation that will lead to “serious catch-up” later this year and throughout 2003.

There is a “strong” possibility that exploration and production (E&P) companies are timing ramped-up production to hit with the expected higher natural gas prices later this year, according to Raymond James’ Energy’s “Stat of the Week.” Analysts Marshall Adkins and James M. Rollyson had earlier predicted an earlier ramp-up because of the rise in prices over the spring, but a “number of factors” has led to an unexpected stagnation that will lead to “serious catch-up” later this year and throughout 2003.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has asked the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs to investigate the possibility of an improper relationship between the energy industry and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission based on an exchange between FERC Chairman Curtis Hebert and Enron Chairman Ken Lay as reported recently in The New York Times.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has asked the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs to investigate the possibility of an improper relationship between the energy industry and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission based on an exchange between FERC Chairman Curtis Hebert and Enron Chairman Ken Lay as reported in The New York Times.

After warning of its possibility Tuesday (see Daily GPI, April 4), Sonat said Wednesday it is implementing a Type 5 OFO, effective with Friday’s gas day, due to excess production upstream of its facilities in Logansport, LA. “The quantities currently flowing into the Logansport facilities have decreased very little and the operational problems [with dehydration equipment] have not been alleviated,” Sonat said in its bulletin board posting. Affecting 25 points in the Logansport Field and another 24 in the Joaquin Field, the OFO calls for receipts exceeding 104% of scheduled quantities to be penalized $15/Dth.