Prospects

Despite prospects for a potentially severe winter storm in theNortheast and moderate screen firmness, the cash market generallyranged from flat to down about 20 cents Friday, as falling weekenddemand made an impact. Northern California numbers retreated fromThursday’s spike, but the Southern California border tacked on morethan $2.50 to its market-leading average.

Increased gas and electricity price/supply volatility is musicto the ears of natural gas storage developers, and no one iswhistling louder these days than two firms sinking their investmentdollars into depleted gas fields in California: Western Canada’sAlberta Energy Company, developer of the state’s first merchantunderground storage project, Wild Goose Storage, in a depleted gasreservoir 50 miles north of Sacramento; and Western Hub Properties,the Texas-based developer that will begin construction of thefirst of two new storage projects in the state by the end of March.

Increased gas and electricity price/supply volatility is musicto the ears of natural gas storage developers, and no one iswhistling louder these days than two firms sinking their investmentdollars into depleted gas fields in California: Western Canada’sAlberta Energy Co., developer of the state’s first merchantunderground storage project, Wild Goose Storage, in a depleted gasreservoir 50 miles north of Sacramento; and Western Hub Properties,the Texas-based developer that will begin construction of thefirst of two new storage projects in the state by the end of March.

The rout was on Tuesday in the cash market. Buffeted by a fairlybenign weather outlook, both near-term and for the transitionperiod into February, and a plunging screen, prices fell betweenabout 50 cents and a dollar at almost every point. Malin’s declineof about 15 cents spotlighted it as relatively firmer than the restof a very weak market.

Prospects for a rescue of the California energy market grewdimmer yesterday as power and money ran low for utilities SouthernCalifornia Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric. The Cal-ISOdeclared its third Stage Three alert in less than a week Tuesday;Investors’ services Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitchvariously downgraded credit ratings applying to both utilities; andthe out-going Clinton Administration appeared to have bowed out ofthe crisis, leaving it up to California officials.

The Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse, which conducts live floorand Internet bidding on oil and gas properties and prospects, soldmore than $34.4 million of properties at its ninth hybrid auctionheld Dec. 13. The Clearinghouse’s Selective Offering auctioned 321lots that consisted of more than 1,200 wells.

“It looked like the screen and cash were in a race to see whichone could go downhill farthest and fastest.” A marketer’s commentaccurately summed up a day that more than ever indicated the bloomis quickly coming off this year’s price rose. Double-digit declinesdominated Thursday, with most exceeding 30 cents, and many GulfCoast and Midcontinent pipes experienced sub-$5 territory for thefirst time in months.

Prospects for Arctic natural gas development in both Alaska andCanada’s Northwest Territories are running at their strongest sincethe dawn of the idea three decades ago, but how it will happenremains up in the air.

Prospects for Arctic natural gas development in both Alaska andCanada’s Northwest Territories are running at their strongest sincethe dawn of the idea three decades ago, but how it will happenremains up in the air.