Possibly

A sustained increase of at least 50% — and possibly more — is on the horizon for exports of natural gas from British Columbia to the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, Westcoast Energy told Canada’s National Energy Board in support of an application for an initial 10%, C$270-million (US$170-million) expansion of its B.C. pipeline system’s capacity by 200 MMcf/d to 2.1 Bcf/d.

Former Enron Corp. Chairman Kenneth L. Lay went on possibly the biggest emotional roller-coaster ride of his life last week, first being subjected to what amounted to a public verbal flogging at the hands of a Senate committee on Tuesday — one senator called him “perhaps the most accomplished confidence man since Charles Ponzi” — only to be somewhat rehabilitated later in the week when a high-level Enron executive testified that Lay had been “duped” by his closest associates.

Key Republicans in the Senate, led by Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-AK), reportedly are expanding their options for energy legislation.

Strong cash price advances continued Tuesday, but there were signs that this week’s bull market may have just about run its course. The futures screen stayed positive for a while in the morning, but then later settled for a 12.6-cent loss that took it back to exactly where it had ended regular trading Friday. And unlike the previous couple of trading days where late quotes had moved sharply higher, cash prices were coming back off again near deadline Tuesday.

Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) of the House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee is expected to announce shortly — possibly as early as this week — whether he will introduce emergency legislation in an attempt to head off worsening power shortages that are being predicted for the California wholesale power markets this summer.

As El Paso Natural Gas worked to restore one of three pipes inits 1 Bcf/d South Mainline system, possibly by today, the NationalTransportation Safety Board (NTSB), investigating Saturday’sexplosion in one of those lines, said they found corrosion and athinning of the pipeline wall in a 22-foot section that broke offin the blast.

Although gas futures prices could take a short-term dip,possibly below $2.65, followed by a small rebound, by late May,Susannah Hardesty, president of Energy Research and Trading,expects prices to be solidly above $3, maybe as high as $3.30. Andshe’s not alone. Given the significant hype about the increase ingas-fired generation and the surge in peak summer power needs,Cynthia Kase of Kase and Company said this market could soar tounexpected heights.

Whether it was too much holiday turkey or possibly just a postY2K letdown, the natural gas futures market began the year insomewhat of a funk last week as traders showed an unwillingness topush prices very much on either side of unchanged.

In what is possibly the largest business process outsourcing(BPO) contract to date, PricewaterhouseCoopers and BP Amoco agreedto expand their existing BPO relationship to the United States. Thedeal is valued at $1.1 billion.