Rival

The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) and the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), Nymex’s chief rival in the energy markets, released contradictory statements Thursday regarding a court decision in their legal battle over the use of Nymex futures settlement prices. Nymex claimed victory, but ICE said the key issue in the dispute was left undecided.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) asked former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles, a rival for her Senate seat in 2004, to put his money where his mouth is and come to Capitol Hill to lobby Senate Democrats to vote in favor of opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He publicly has claimed he could drum up enough votes from Democrats to break the logjam over the controversial issue.

One day after a rival project was announced, Enbridge Inc., part owner of Alliance and Vector pipelines, reported that it is considering constructing the Beacon Pipeline — a 1 Bcf/d pipeline from the Rockies to Chicago. The proposed $1.2 billion, 900-mile pipeline, which was first announced in rough draft form in late June, would come from either the Powder River Basin or Cheyenne, WY to Chicago with a possible northwest extension back to Opal (see Daily GPI, June 27).

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports may find a potentially power market in the United States because break-even cash costs for new projects have fallen to about $3/Mcf and it costs even less for expansion, according to a new report by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P). The report was issued Wednesday, the same day FERC moved three U.S. LNG projects forward and signaled its support for more (see related story).

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports may find a potentially power market in the United States because break-even cash costs for new projects have fallen to about $3/Mcf and it costs even less for expansion, according to a new report by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P). The report was issued Wednesday, the same day FERC moved three U.S. LNG projects forward and signaled its support for more (see related story).

The weather forecasters say Lilli, a category 4 as of Wednesday evening, could rival Andrew, a category 5 hurricane in 1992 that devastated a wide swath of Florida before cutting across the Gulf of Mexico, toppling 34 oil and gas platforms, leaving 28 leaning, and causing over a billion dollars in damage, not counting the loss of production revenue (see NGI’s storm chronicle — located under special reports on intelligencepress.com).

Enron Corp.’s $25 million settlement of a lawsuit filed against one-time rival and 15-minute merger partner Dynegy Inc. was approved in New York City late Thursday by the bankruptcy court overseeing Enron’s massive case. The resolution will free up more than $62 million for Enron, which had been held in escrow since late last year.

Dynegy Inc., cast by Enron Corp. as the villain in its bankruptcy filing, has aggressively countered every move by its former rival, and Thursday filed a motion requesting the bankruptcy case be moved to Houston, where both of the companies are headquartered. Dynegy, facing a $10 billion breach of contract lawsuit that Enron incorporated into its bankruptcy proceedings on Dec. 2, filed papers with New York Judge Arthur Gonzalez, noting that Enron’s decision to file in the Southern District of New York was “a classic example of the type of forum shopping that should not be condoned.”

Dynegy Inc., cast by Enron Corp. as the villain in its bankruptcy filing, has aggressively countered every move by its former rival, and late last week filed a motion requesting the bankruptcy case be moved to Houston, where both of the companies are headquartered. Dynegy, facing a $10 billion breach of contract lawsuit that Enron incorporated into its bankruptcy proceedings on Dec. 2, filed papers with New York Judge Arthur Gonzalez, noting that Enron’s decision to file in the Southern District of New York was “a classic example of the type of forum shopping that should not be condoned.”