Preceding

A plea by two Enron affiliates for a limited waiver of thecapacity-release regulations and the “shipper must have title”policy is being met, at least initially, with opposition from thenatural gas industry.

Gas prices didn’t care that Monday marked the official start of1998’s Atlantic hurricane season. What did impress them wasblistering heat in the Gulf Coast producing states of Louisiana andTexas. With more gas than usual being kept at home for airconditioning load, the Midwest and Northeast market areas-thoughconsiderably cooler than Down South-had to pony up a few extracents in competition. The futures screen run-up contributed to thegeneral cash bullishness, sources said.

Union Pacific Resources Group sold its interests in theWattenberg area of Colorado’s Denver-Julesberg Basin toDenver-based United States Exploration Inc. for $41 million. Theproperties, which are in Adams, Arapahoe, Elbert and Weld counties,consist of 336 producing wells, which produced about 5.5 MMcf/d ofgas and 640 barrels of liquids/d in 1997. UPR retained its royaltyinterest in the properties. The transaction closed May 15 and waseffective Jan.1.

Oklahoma gas producers are close to declaring victory in abattle with the state’s pipeline companies. New legislationexpected to be signed by the governor within two weeks would givestate regulators greater authority to settle gathering disputes,ensure producers are provided open access to gas transportation,and to ensure the rates, terms and conditions of gatheringcontracts are just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory.

Duke Energy subsidiary Duke Energy Industrial Asset Developmentand Primary Energy, a subsidiary of NIPSCO Industries, are formingan alliance to market on-site generation to energy-intensivebusinesses in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Oral arguments by the owner of the Sears Tower, and QST Energyagainst Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) were heard yesterday by theIllinois Commerce Commission (ICC). Tower Leasing and QST arefighting ComEd’s refusal to allow installation of a cogenerationsystem at the tower that would save tenants an estimated $2 millionor more a year in energy costs. So far, ComEd has refused to allowQST to acquire or lease Edison’s distribution system inside theSears Tower, a prerequisite to installing the cogeneration (seeNGI May 5, 1997).

NGC Corp. struck its first wholesale electric marketing alliancewith an electric utility in a deal with Florida Power Corp. (FPC).The alliance would capitalize on developing wholesale energymarkets in Florida and other regions, NGC said. It combines theenergy marketing, trading and risk management skills of NGC withthe current power marketing capabilities and over 8,500 MW of powersupply assets of Florida Power. The alliance will allow NGC and FPCto offer wholesale customers in Florida and the southeast a fullspectrum of wholesale power services, and maximize theopportunities for commercial management of FPC’s generation assets.

GFI Energy Ventures of Los Angeles, Caminus Energy Ltd. ofCambridge, England, SS&C Technologies, Oaktree CapitalManagement and RIT Capital partners plc are combining forces toform GFI Caminus, a new enterprise that will provide comprehensiveconsulting services and software technology to the power and gastrading industry.

Lomak Petroleum and Domain Energy Corp. said they will merge toform a company with a reserve base of nearly 1 Tcf in gasequivalents, reserve life of 12 years and extensive development andexploration opportunities. The company to be created will be calledRange Resources Corp. and will have total assets exceeding $1.1billion.