Resulted

Last year’s global natural gas and oil transactions hit a record, but the late-year financial crisis and falling economic conditions resulted in a considerable reduction in the total value of transactions by year’s end, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) reported last week.

Since 1994, when Dow Chemical Co. first reported its energy and conservation performance, the company says it has saved 1,600 trillion Btu. Dow’s program has resulted in energy savings of $8.6 billion and has prevented 86 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, a company official told U.S. lawmakers.

A record number of global oil and natural gas transactions occurred in 2008, but the financial crisis and economic conditions resulted in a considerable reduction in the transactions’ total value by year’s end, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC).

Forecasts of sub-freezing lows Thursday from the Northeast southward into the Southeast and westward through the Midwest/Midcontinent into the Plains and Rockies resulted in more market strength Wednesday than a day earlier. However, it offered another demonstration of the fact that widespread heating load does not necessarily translate into much higher gas prices.

Columbia Gas said it was terminating Tuesday morning the declaration of a force majeure and OFO for Operating Areas 1, 4 and 10 that had resulted Monday afternoon from “operational events beyond its control” at the Strasburg (VA) and Seneca (WV) compressor stations.

Hedging gains and production growth resulted in strong quarterly earnings reports for two Houston-based independents, EOG Resources Inc. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. During separate conference calls last week, the CEOs acknowledged their oil and natural gas drilling prowess, but they also pointed to their companies’ sturdy finances in the uncertain credit market.

Hedging gains and production growth resulted in strong quarterly earnings reports for two Houston-based independents, EOG Resources Inc. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. During separate conference calls Tuesday, the CEOs acknowledged their oil and natural gas drilling prowess, but they also pointed to their companies’ sturdy finances in the uncertain credit market.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co.’s recent open season for its 300 Line Expansion Project resulted in a binding precedent agreement for a 15-year term from Equitable Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Equitable Energy, which was awarded all of the project’s 300,000 Dth/d of capacity. The project links Equitable’s Appalachian production to Northeast markets. The expansion facilities will consist of approximately 125 miles of 30-inch diameter pipeline looping and approximately 46,000 hp of additional compression facilities to be constructed in Tennessee’s existing pipeline corridor in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Tennessee, a subsidiary of El Paso Corp., has entered into a fixed-price agreement to lock in its pipe costs. Tennessee plans to file its certificate application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during the second quarter of 2009, with phased construction anticipated during 2010 and 2011.

Major heat levels in a majority of the West, along with forecasts of rising temperatures in several sections of the East, resulted in rising prices at nearly all points in Monday’s launch of the July aftermarket. The return of industrial load from its typical weekend hiatus gave a little extra push to quotes.