Remained

Enron Corp. and Dynegy Corp. remained mum on whether a merger deal was imminent late Thursday, but in the background, the investment community began digesting the possibility that the smaller Dynegy, which has stuck to a path of high-quality asset acquisition to accompany its modest trading arm, could sit at the same table money-wise with Enron, well known for shedding acquisitions as fast as it has amassed the largest trading and marketing business in the world. Now, however, Enron faces a credibility problem larger than its operations, and has begun to slowly dish out details of its complex financial operations before it sheds even more assets or is consumed by another company.

Before its sudden downfall, Enron remained at the top of the charts in energy trading and marketing, holding the lead for most of the history of NGI’s ranking of the largest gas marketing companies by volumes sold. It held that spot in the third quarter, but that soon will change, and the impact of Enron’s fall probably will reduce transaction volumes among the other top marketers in the near term, according to Ronald Barone of UBS Warburg.

Before its sudden downfall, Enron remained at the top of the charts in energy trading and marketing, holding the lead for most of the history of NGI’s ranking of the largest gas marketing companies by volumes sold. It held that spot in the third quarter, but that soon will change, and the impact of Enron’s fall probably will reduce transaction volumes among the other top marketers in the near term, according to Ronald Barone of UBS Warburg.

An Unauthorized Overpull Penalty situation declared Tuesday afternoon by El Paso remained in effect Wednesday until further notice.

Natural gas prices remained on a roller coaster ride of volatility yesterday as bull traders used the latest storage data as a battering ram to propel prices higher in the last 30 minutes of trading. The December contract received the biggest buying boost, posting a 10.8-cent gain at $3.291. The 12-month strip lagged only slightly, advancing 8.4 cents to close at $3.383.

Many market experts remained in disbelief Thursday over the American Gas Association’s (AGA) report of a 3 Bcf net injection into the nation’s storage facilities last week. An injection that small in August is unprecedented and had a stunning impact on prices, pushing near-month futures up 37 cents on Wednesday with a similar increase in cash Thursday morning. However, many marketers said they were attempting to ignore the data as an anomaly or an outright mistake by AGA or the storage companies it surveys.

The cash market remained in a softening mode for the most part Wednesday, but only a couple of declines exceeded a dime and some points, particularly in the Rockies and at the Southern California border, registered moderate gains.

The cash market remained on its uphill trek at all points Wednesday except for the OFO-devastated PG&E citygate, but price increases continued to get smaller than those earlier in the week. A substantial majority of upticks were between 10 and 20 cents.

Except for moderate declines at Northern California points, the market remained bullish for cash traders Tuesday. Rising heat levels in much of the East, Midcontinent/Midwest and Southwest combined with another morning of stronger futures to push cash higher by double digits at nearly all points, sources said.