Quietly

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, who has been quietly working to assuage landowners, environmental interests and the state’s lucrative coalbed methane (CBM) developers, said he wants to now encourage the state legislature to give agencies more flexibility to apply site-specific permitting. The state, already months behind in processing requests for the industry’s potential 51,000-well sprawl in the northeast Wyoming, has been further stymied by recent budget and staff cuts.

In what was likely the calm before the storm, natural gas prices slid quietly to either side of unchanged Wednesday as traders elected to wait for fresh storage and weather news due out on Thursday. At the closing bell the December contract was 0.7 cents lower at $4.254. Estimated volume was proof of the quiet trading, with only 74,943 contracts changing hands.

Although it does not say much about its oil-related operations externally, some crude oil profit-taking is ongoing within the expanding San Diego-based Sempra Energy holdings, known mostly for having the largest retail utility customer base in the nation. In reports to internal audiences in recent months, Sempra has talked up its oil/gas mineral rights covering 5.2 million acres across 31 states, and most recently a 21-year record oil trading volume (Jan. 7) that its trading unit helped the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) achieve.

Although it does not say much about its oil-related operations externally, some crude oil profit-taking is ongoing within the expanding San Diego-based Sempra Energy holdings, known mostly for having the largest retail utility customer base in the nation. In reports to internal audiences in recent months, Sempra has talked up its oil/gas mineral rights covering 5.2 million acres across 31 states, and most recently a 21-year record oil trading volume (Jan. 7) that its trading unit helped the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) achieve.

Preparations quietly got underway last week at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for an orderly changing of the guard at the end of the month, as the White House named Commissioner Pat Wood III to succeed current Chairman Curt Hebert Jr., who is resigning to join New Orleans, LA-based Entergy Corp. as executive vice president of external affairs.

Following weeks of nasty accusations by both sides in a high profile hostile takeover attempt, Canadian Superior Energy Inc. has quietly withdrawn its bid for Calgary crosstown rival Canadian 88 Energy Corp., citing Canadian 88’s “erosion” of shareholder value relative to its own. Canadian Superior also cited Canadian 88’s refusal to provide requested information in its takeover attempt.

An attempt to score a quick tax-cut coup has been quietly abandoned by TransCanada PipeLines Ltd., which beat a retreat from a public airing of its political agenda in a potentially lengthy regulatory case. The company said it would hold off action on the case pending the report of a federal-provincial task force which is considering changes in the overall pipeline regulatory regime.

An attempt to score a quick tax-cut coup has been quietly abandoned by TransCanada PipeLines Ltd., which beat a retreat from a public airing of its political agenda in a potentially lengthy regulatory case. The company said it would hold off action on the case pending the report of a federal-provincial task force which is considering changes in the overall pipeline regulatory regime.

Most of what was lost in spot market pricing on Monday wasrather quietly regained yesterday, as storage buying started tokick back in and the weather situation in the Gulf of Mexico onceagain looked ominous, with the possibility of another tropicalstorm or two developing.