Quietly

Deepwater discoveries by the majors in the Gulf of Mexico haveattracted a lot of attention, but quietly, smaller North Americanindependents have staked their claims in the shallower waters ofthe Gulf. Better technology, an infrastructure already in place,less cost and a consumer thirst for natural gas have made theshallow waters of the Gulf an enticing niche for independentswanting to make their mark.

Deepwater discoveries by the majors in the Gulf of Mexico have attracted a lot of attention, but quietly, smaller North American independents have staked their claims in the shallower waters of the Gulf. Better technology, an infrastructure already in place, less cost and a consumer thirst for natural gas have made the shallow waters of the Gulf an enticing niche for independents wanting to make their mark.

Most of the market “seemed to take a breather” Friday, as oneproducer perceived it, going quietly into the weekend flat tomildly higher. The points experiencing significant declines ofabout a nickel or greater were scattered They included San JuanBasin, Stanfield and Iroquois Zone 2 and were topped by a drop of alittle more than a dime at Malin.

Edison Mission Energy, the global independent power productionsubsidiary of Rosemead, CA-based Edison International, is quietlyretrenching and reorganizing its worldwide presence in a move thathas resulted in 100 workers being laid off.

At the end of a mostly negative price week, traders decided togo quietly into the weekend Friday. Nearly all points were flat toless than 4 cents up or down.

Edison Mission Energy, the global independent power productionsubsidiary of Rosemead, CA-based Edison International, is quietlyretrenching and reorganizing its worldwide presence in a move thathas resulted in 100 workers being laid off.

With no notice and little fanfare-not even a press release-theCalifornia Public Utilities Commission got back to full strengthwith two “temporary” appointees, both holding existing appointivepositions in Gov. Gray Davis’ first-year administration. Indicativeof the seemingly low profile Gov. Davis is giving energy issues,the new commissioners were rushed onboard the five-membercommission June 3 so they could participate in some controversialtelecommunications cases.

While deregulation at the retail level inches along at a snail’s pace, the online retail energy marketplace is quietly gaining market acceptance and could be become a real stimulant to competition.

The futures market shrugged off another bearish AGA storagereport and quietly traded higher at Nymex Thursday. After testingsupport in the $1.88-89 span early, the September contractrebounded to the mid-$1.90s where it remained in afternoon trade.The prompt month settled at $1.953, up 3.6 cents on the day.