Risky

Canadian energy income funds, which have gained favor with investors with successful exploitation of oil and gas properties in mature basins — many in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin — received an overall low rating in a new report by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service (S&P) last week.

Canadian energy income funds, which have gained favor with investors with successful exploitation of oil and gas properties in mature basins — many in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin — received an overall low rating in a new report by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service (S&P) this week.

Energy market reforms, more complex supply chains and the growing share of international trade in global energy supply pose increasing risks to investors in the natural gas industry, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which on Tuesday issued the “World Energy Investment Outlook 2003.”

In another key order addressing the scope of pipeline collateral demands, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week said PG&E Gas Transmission-Northwest (PG&E-GTN) could not require non-creditworthy shippers on its system to pay a year’s worth of reservation charges as collateral to continue receiving transportation service.

In another key order addressing the scope of pipeline collateral demands, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday said PG&E Gas Transmission-Northwest (PG&E-GTN) cannot require non-creditworthy shippers on its system to put up collateral equal to one year’s worth of reservation charges in order to continue receiving transportation service.

PG&E Transmission, Northwest Corp. (PG&E-GTN) was correct last fall when it determined that Denver, CO-based marketer, e prime Inc., was no longer creditworthy under the pipeline’s tariff guidelines, and threatened to suspend service to the company, according to FERC. However, the agency has deferred ruling on whether PG&E-GTN had the authority to demand from e prime a 12-month pre-payment of charges to continue as a shipper.

With more and more energy trading companies joining the ranks of their credit-troubled counterparts in the industry, Houston-based EnergyClear Corp., the first independent U.S. energy clearinghouse registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said Thursday it has established a new category of membership for merchant energy trading companies facing credit rating downgrades.

With more and more energy trading companies joining the ranks of their credit-troubled counterparts in the industry, Houston-based EnergyClear Corp., the first independent U.S. energy clearinghouse registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said Thursday it has established a new category of membership for merchant energy trading companies facing credit rating downgrades.

Producers have stronger bottom lines than other sectors of the oil and gas industry, but high natural gas prices reflect falling U.S. production and the “hard time” exploration and production companies have to replace reserves of comparable or better quality at a competitive cost, said Moody’s Investors Service analysts. Moody’s analysts last week gave a “stable” rating to the entire sector, with the exception of oil refiners and wholesale marketing, which both carry a “negative” outlook.