Primarily

TransCanada Corp. attributed a C$43 million (C$0.04/share) increase in second quarter earnings announced Friday over a year ago as primarily due to income from the acquisition of American Natural Resources Co. and ANR Storage Co. and the start-up of its Bécancour cogeneration facility. The company also recorded higher income due to a settlement on the Canadian Mainline approved by the National Energy Board (NEB).

TransCanada Corp. attributed a C$43 million (C$0.04/share) increase in second quarter earnings announced Friday over a year ago as primarily due to income from the acquisition of American Natural Resources Co. and ANR Storage Co. and the start-up of its Bécancour cogeneration facility. The company also recorded higher income due to a settlement on the Canadian Mainline approved by the National Energy Board (NEB).

Staff members of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) have recommended that Washington State utility, Puget Sound Energy (PSE), be fined $2 million for failing to maintain accurate and complete records of suspected natural gas leaks.

The early-week bear market that resulted primarily from forecasts of a midweek break from harsh winter weather in some areas proved to be short-lived, at least in eastern markets. Prices rebounded from about a nickel to nearly 30 cents Wednesday at most points in the East as arctic air masses were predicted to bring sub-zero wind chills to the Midwest and Plains states Thursday and continue on into the Northeast and much of the South.

Despite a 4% drop in natural gas production last year primarily because of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, U.S. proved natural gas reserves rose about 6% in 2005, the largest annual increase since 1970, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report Tuesday.

Houston-based Falcon Gas Storage Co. Inc. said Wednesday it will build a new 63-mile, 24-inch diameter gas pipeline primarily to serve its expanded 16 Bcf working capacity Worsham-Steed Gas Storage Facility in the western portion of the prolific Barnett Shale gas play in North Texas. The capacity of the new pipeline will be 450 MMcf/d, with commercial operation scheduled to begin Sept. 1, 2007.

Most of the cash market was falling again Wednesday as weather and storage fundamentals remained bearish. However, several western points (primarily in the Rockies) were flat to a little more than a quarter higher. The majority of losses ranged from about a nickel to 30 cents or so.

There were a few gains in cash prices Friday, primarily in the growing-hotter Northeast, but they were strongly outweighed by softness in the rest of the market. The West was uniformly lower by double-digit amounts as excess supplies, OFOs and a general cooling trend weighed on regional pricing.

XTO Energy Inc. said Thursday that it has traded producing properties, located primarily in Texas and New Mexico, with ConocoPhillips. Production volumes exchanged are estimated at 1,800 boe/d.