Remaining

In a deal exchanging disputed oil/gas properties for cash, Calpine Corp. late Wednesday said it had settled its remaining differences with Rosetta Resources Inc., its spinoff to which it sold the bulk of its oil and natural gas properties in the summer of 2005 (see Daily GPI, June 30, 2005). As part of the settlement, Calpine gets a $97 million payment and Rosetta obtains “certain residual oil and gas properties” and a 10-year supply pact from Calpine.

With the year’s fifth named tropical storm already come and gone and more than three months remaining in the 2008 hurricane season, forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center and Colorado State University (CSU) increased the number of named storms and hurricanes in their tropical storm forecasts.

With the year’s fifth named tropical storm already come and gone and more than three months remaining in the 2008 hurricane season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center increased the number of named storms and hurricanes in its tropical storm forecast.

With Gulf of Mexico (GOM) production rising again following the passage of Hurricane Dolly and cooling load remaining generally light outside the southern half of the U.S., prices continued to fall Thursday at nearly all points. The Northeast and Midwest are experiencing warming trends but only to seasonable temperatures with highs mostly in the mid 80s.

NGS Energy LP said it intends to raise $310 million in senior secured credit facilities to fund remaining construction and pad gas purchases at Tres Palacios Gas Storage LLC, a new underground salt cavern gas storage facility under construction in Matagorda and Wharton counties, TX. Tres Palacios will have three caverns and will be a high-deliverability, multi-cycle facility with several interconnections and significant storage capacity. Credit Suisse has been retained to raise the financing. The project — which received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval in September 2007 (see Daily GPI, Sept. 21, 2007) — would be designed to allow cycling up to seven times a year, with a peak injection rate of 1 Bcf/d and a maximum withdrawal capability of 2.5 Bcf/d. Tres Palacios also plans to construct approximately 42 miles of pipeline that would extend from the facility to interconnections with 12 intrastate and interstate pipelines. The FERC order requires the storage and pipeline facilities to be built and in service within one year. Tres Palacios would be situated among several proposed or existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals, including Calhoun LNG and Freeport LNG. The project includes a header system that crosses more than 8 Bcf/d of downstream pipeline capacity. Headquartered in Westport, CT, NGS Energy was founded in 2006 to develop a portfolio of high-deliverability storage assets.

Rockies Express Pipeline LLC (REX) has formally asked FERC for authorization to put in service the remaining 210-mile portion of REX-West that runs from an ANR Pipeline meter station in Brown County, KS, to Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line in Audrain County, MO.

With near-term weather remaining supportive and speculative traders holding a record net short position, March natural gas futures continued to test higher price levels in Monday action. The contract recorded a $9.300 high in morning trade and a $9.090 low in the afternoon before settling at $9.186, up 4 pennies from Friday’s close.

With temperatures remaining frigid Tuesday in a number of regions of the country, including the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, March natural gas futures for a second consecutive day reached a high of $8.620, which much like Monday’s session ended up triggering a round of selling. The prompt-month contract on Tuesday closed at $8.436, down 9.5 cents on the day.

In spite of frigid weather remaining in place throughout much of the U.S. and Canada and prior-day screen support having returned the day before, prices were in retreat at most Gulf Coast, Midwest and Northeast points Tuesday. However, the Midcontinent and West continued to advance in nearly all cases, which was hardly surprising considering Wednesday lows are expected to range from the 20s and 30s to single digits in those regions.