Reflect

Prior to making the annual October adjustment in retail natural gas utility rates to reflect past and future wholesale commodity prices for the state’s three private-sector gas utilities, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) will hold its annual Natural Gas Outlook workshop Thursday at its headquarters in Salem, OR. Utility officials, PUC staff, the regional gas association and proponents of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in the state will made presentations.

With its restructuring efforts essentially complete, El Paso Corp. has simplified its corporate structure and renamed its production holding company to El Paso Exploration & Production Co. to reflect a stronger focus on producing domestic oil and natural gas. Lisa Stewart, president of El Paso Production and Non-regulated Operations, will continue to lead the unit.

Natural gas futures trading on Thursday continued to reflect the industry’s uncertainty as to what the long-term ramifications of Hurricane Katrina will be on the commodity. After receiving a somewhat bullish 58 Bcf storage report, October natural gas seesawed back and forth for the remainder of the session before settling at a record $11.757, up 28.5 cents from Wednesday.

Capital spending is on the rise for oil and natural gas producers, and their exploration and production (E&P) investment strategy appears to reflect a continuing sense of optimism in industry fundamentals, and in particular, a strong outlook for cash, Raymond James’ energy analysts said in a new report.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service (S&P) on Tuesday affirmed El Paso Corp.’s “B-” credit rating and revised the outlook to “stable” from “negative” to reflect the company’s progress to restructure and improve liquidity.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service (S&P) on Tuesday affirmed El Paso Corp.’s “B-” credit rating and revised the outlook to “stable” from “negative” to reflect the company’s progress to restructure and improve liquidity.

ONEOK, Inc. has changed the name of its energy marketing segment to reflect a new direction for the unit. ONEOK Energy Marketing and Trading will henceforth be known as ONEOK Energy Services Co., it was announced Friday.

For the second time this year, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has lowered its 2003 targets for crude oil and natural gas sales because of production problems in three of its key drilling areas, the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Algeria and Qatar. Oil and gas sales volumes in 2003 now are expected to be 190 MMboe, including 46 MMboe for the second quarter, down from a previous forecast of 200 MMboe for the year and 48 MMboe for the quarter.

Natural gas prices reflect a degree of enthusiasm that is typical for this time of year, particularly if there are hurricanes lurking in the Gulf of Mexico, but according to one market observer, once traders weigh healthy storage inventories against expected winter weather, an option strategy designed to take advantage of high levels of volatility may be the trade to make.