Putting

Merger turmoil and tight margins are putting the screws to quitea few energy marketers, but Frost & Sullivan still sees plentyof room for the industry to grow. Several of the top-20 marketersof 1998 have exited the market, while other companies have beenspurred to acquire assets and start online trading, according to arecent study by the group.

Its prior ruling basically putting the Kansas ad valorem taxcontroversy to rest was based on two incorrect factual assumptions,the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit conceded last week.But despite the errors, the court said the thrust of its opinionremains the same — Kansas producers owe refunds to customers whopurchased gas in the early 1980s at prices that, because theyincluded the tax, were above the maximum legal limit.

Customers of Enron soon will be able to point and click a mouseto buy gas, electricity and eventually every product the companytrades with the launch of EnronOnline, a global Internet-basedtransaction system for wholesale energy and othercommodities.EnronOnline will allow participants to not only viewcommodity prices in real-time but also to directly transact withEnron over the Internet free of commission. The transaction systemwill go live Nov. 29 with the launch of North America natural gasto be followed by all other products over the next six weeks.

By the time you read this El Paso Energy will be putting thefinishing touches on its merger with Sonat Inc., creating thelargest natural gas pipeline in North America in terms of miles andthroughput.

By the time you read this, El Paso Energy will be putting thefinishing touches on its merger with Sonat Inc., creating thelargest natural gas pipeline in North America in terms of miles andthroughput.

The Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service(MMS) is beginning its third royalty-in-kind (RIK) pilot, puttingit in the business of selling Gulf of Mexico (GOM) gas productionit accepts in place of cash royalties. The pilot is intended totest a different approach to RIK, using a competitive auction tomove up to 260 MMBtu/d initially.

Judging from a recent survey, the secondary capacity marketappears to be working efficiently and not putting a crimp on gasindustry competition. While deal activity is leveling off, themarket is still dynamic enough to accommodate new entrants,according to energy industry consulting firm Skipping Stone Inc.

Energy.com Corp. of Columbus, OH, is preparing to launch eBID,an on-line Request for Proposal (RFP) system through its web siteat www.energy.com. The web-based interactive RFP process will allowcommercial and industrial businesses to shop for the best energysource on-line. Energy.com’s eBID is scheduled to launch later thismonth.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been putting somemeat on the bones of its FERC First restructuring efforts,following up the announcement of a new director, with that of a newdeputy director of the merged Office of Markets, Tariffs and Rates(OMTR) and a new Office of Energy Projects (OEP).