Revised

In the face of continued, albeit moderating, growth in its principal service areas of Nevada and Arizona, Las Vegas, NV-based Southwest Gas Corp. gained a revised positive outlook and a triple-B (BBB-) credit rating Wednesday from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P). S&P cited a stronger cash flow and declining overall debt.

Citing record storage inventory levels and cool weather in certain parts of the country, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revised downward its Henry Hub spot price forecast for the year in its Short-Term Energy Outlook to $7.74/Mcf from the $8.11/Mcf that was projected last month, and ratcheted down its average price forecast for 2007 to $8.81/Mcf from its May prediction of $9.17/Mcf. But an active hurricane season, as has been predicted for this year, could cause the spot price projections to sharply reverse direction in late summer, the EIA said.

Citing record storage inventory levels and cool weather in certain parts of the country, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revised downward its Henry Hub spot price forecast for the year in its Short-Term Energy Outlook to $7.74/Mcf from the $8.11/Mcf that was projected last month, and ratcheted down its average price forecast for 2007 to $8.81/Mcf from its May prediction of $8.39/Mcf. But an active hurricane season, as has been predicted for this year, could cause the spot price projections to sharply reverse direction in late summer, the EIA said.

New York-based Amerada Hess Corp. on Friday announced it will seek shareholder approval to change its name to Hess Corp. The revised name, said the company, is already “firmly established” in the company’s marketing and refining operations and recognized by customers where the company operates.

As a sign of some stabilization of a declining Jackson Prairie storage account balance, Northwest revised its Unauthorized Overrun Entitlement (see Daily GPI, Dec. 9) from a Stage I (at 3% imbalance tolerance) to a Stage III (13%) until further notice Monday. The entitlement affects all Receiving Party customers north of the Kemmerer (WY) Compressor Station. “To avoid penalties and a potential OFO through the Green River and Kemmerer Compressor Stations, Northwest requests your immediate cooperation and assistance to stay within your scheduled volumes by bringing on additional supplies north of Kemmerer,” the pipeline told customers, adding that it appreciated their quick response to its request to pay back imbalances owed to Northwest north of Kemmerer this past week. Customers who still owe gas to Northwest north of Kemmerer were encouraged to make payback arrangements as soon as possible. A suspension of Northwest deliveries to a CIG interconnect due to a line rupture late last week about 22 miles south of the Green River Compressor Station (see Daily GPI, Dec. 9) remained in effect Monday with no prognosis for restoration of service provided.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) in November has revised downward its projection on rising winter heating costs. Bills for households fueled by natural gas are now expected to rise 41% ($306 more per household) rather than the 48% hike ($350 more per household) EIA predicted in October.

Following a Monday morning meeting to discuss a revised offer from Battery Ventures., the board of directors of Nymex Holdings Inc. reiterated its commitment to continue moving ahead with its previously-announced transaction with General Atlantic, which was selected last week.

Cash prices recorded moderate rallies at most points Friday as revised tracking projections for a much strengthened Hurricane Katrina had the storm approaching more closely to the eastern end of Gulf of Mexico (GOM) production operations than had been anticipated Thursday. But Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) Zone 3, which would be highly susceptible to the impact of Katrina shut-ins, shot up more than $3 on average with peak quotes of $14 being reported.

FERC last Wednesday approved revised standards governing business practices and electronic communications for interstate natural gas pipelines, as well as issued a proposed rule to adopt similar standards for electric utilities for the first time.