A $1.2 million discount paid up front in a lump sum and theprospects of picking up energy trading insights from an experiencednational trader are what prompted the nation’s largest municipalutility to sign a one-year gas agreement worth about $25 millionwith Houston-based Reliant Energy Services Inc. last month.
Prospects
Articles from Prospects
Canadian Assets are Hot Prospects With Price & Drilling Hikes
As producers get organized for a forecast big push to acceleratedevelopment of Canadian natural-gas supplies, a hot market in fieldassets is emerging.
West’s Friday Hex Holds; East Up on Heat Prospects
In the matchup of East vs. West markets, it was the East by aknockout Friday. While western prices plunged for the thirdstraight weekend, the East relied on existing and predicted hotweather to range from flat to up about a nickel at most points andrealize gains of almost a dime at Northeast citygates. A screenrise of less than a penny was considered a negligible factor inboth regions.
West Plunges; Heat Supports Prices in East
As many had expected, prospects of severe heat averted much ofthe softness that normally accompanies a Fourth of July weekend,considered the year’s lowest demand period. But that was true onlyin eastern markets Friday. The bottom was dropping out for pricesin the West, particularly at the Southern California border.
CA Independents Holding for Deregulation
Despite bullish prospects two years ago with the advent ofderegulated energy markets, California independent gas producers atthe start of 1999 are still struggling against depressed prices,slow developing electric and gas restructurings and a hard core ofthree major investor-owned utilities that have proven to beformidable competitors. One independent producer, Tri-Valley Corp.,in Bakersfield still expects to ride out continuing years of redink until real gas/electric competition and increased oil/gasprices eventually make current projects profitable in the long run.
Duke CA Plants to Get Big Ticket Makeover
The bullish prospects for natural gas-fired power generation andthe robust market developing in the merchant plant sector were bothunderscored last week by Duke Energy Power Services’ plans toinvest $700 million in state-of-the-art gas-fired units at two ofits recently purchased merchant sites in California.