Regarding

Portland Natural Gas Transmission System will hold an openseason from Oct. 1 to Oct. 22 on its PNGTS Pipeline to elicitinterest regarding new transportation services such as access to aninterconnect with Algonquin’s HubLine project, and consequently, tothe lucrative Boston power generation market.

Pioneer Natural Resources USA Inc. filed a preliminary proxystatement with the SEC regarding a proposed merger with the limitedpartners of 25 publicly-held Parker & Parsley limitedpartnerships. According to the plan, each partnership that approvesthe proposals will merge with Pioneer and their partnershipinterests will be converted into the right to receive cash. At thesame time, Pioneer also is offering to acquire 21 non-publiclimited partnerships and 13 privately-held employee partnershipsthrough mergers for cash. Pioneer is the sole or managing generalpartner of all of the partnerships. As a result of the mergers,Pioneer will acquire additional working interests in wellspredominantly located in the Spraberry field in the Permian Basinof West Texas. If approved, the mergers are expected to add twomillion barrels of oil equivalent production next year. The amountof cash Pioneer USA will pay for the partnership interests will bebased on the partnerships’ reserve value plus net working capital(less expenses and fees of the mergers) as of Sept. 30. Undercurrent Nymex futures strip prices, Pioneer estimates that its cashoffer would be $60 million. However, it also said it will consideroffers from third parties to purchase any partnership or itsassets. Persons interested in making an offer should contactTimothy L. Dove or Mark L. Withrow at (972) 444-9001 before Nov. 1.

NiSource Chairman Gary Neale yesterday called on Columbiaofficials to provide detailed information to shareholders regardingincreased “golden parachutes” approved last week for 30 Columbiaofficials. In a letter to Columbia CEO Oliver G. (Rick) RichardIII, Neale also said he was “distressed to hear that you and yourchief financial officer, Mike O’Donnell, repeatedlymischaracterized the financing” of NiSource’s $68/share hostiletakeover offer ($5.7 billion) to Columbia shareholders during anearnings teleconference last week (see Daily GPI July 16, July 15,June25, June 11 and June 8).

All sources were on the same page Tuesday regarding what waspushing cash prices upward. “Blame the screen,” they chorused,because there weren’t any fundamentals around at which to point.Just about every point was up between 10 and 15 cents, except forintra-Alberta increases of a little over a nickel.