Sends

Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday revised the outlooks for Dominion Resources Inc. (Baa1 senior unsecured.) and its gas pipeline subsidiary CNG (A3 senior unsecured) to negative from stable, citing concerns over financial risk from debt-financed growth, particularly at Dominion Energy and Consolidated Natural Gas (CNG). However, the credit rating agency said the outlook remains stable for securities issued by Virginia Electric and Power (A2 senior secured) based upon regulatory support afforded the utility in Virginia through 2007.

FERC has turned over to two House Energy and Commerce subcommittees and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee energy companies’ responses about their participation in Enron-style trading practices and round-trip, or “wash,” transactions, including the replies that sought confidential treatment by the Commission.

El Paso Corp. and its publicly owned master limited partnership, El Paso Energy Partners LP (EPN), have entered into a letter of intent for EPN to acquire about 10,677 miles of natural gas transportation assets in Texas for $750 million. El Paso Corp. is selling EPN its EPGT-Texas intrastate pipeline, gathering systems in the Permian Basin and an interest in the Indian Basin gas plant in southeast New Mexico. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2002.

Following the release of some of the most price-constructive medium range weather forecasts thus far this winter, natural gas futures shuffled higher Thursday. Continued short-covering pressure was enough to promote prices to new six-week highs for the third day in a row. However, the buying was done in an orderly manner, and because it was almost evenly matched by local and commercial selling, the day’s gains were limited. The March contract settled at $2.425, up 4 cents for the session. By virtue of yesterday’s 118,144 figure, estimated volume has easily eclipsed the 100,000 mark each day this week.

Pressured by the release of another in a string of bearish weather forecasts and in sympathy with losses seen in the nearby crude oil pit, natural gas futures plumbed new three-week lows Monday, as traders continued to liquidate longs acquired during the month of October. The December contract never recovered from its 7-cent gap-lower open and finished with a 19.2-cent loss at $2.733.

Energy companies were sent mixed market signals as analysts last week were trying to deal with and digest warnings of a possible recessionary economy, widespread stock sell-offs and teetering stock prices on a Wall Street that still was recovering from the destruction caused by terrorist air assaults.

As midnight was closing in Thursday, the lower house Assembly in California’s legislature passed on a 41-32 vote a revised rescue package to restore Southern California Edison Co.’s financial viability and to inject a healthy dose of re-regulation into the market for small residential and commercial electricity consumers. The measure goes back to the state senate where it faces an uncertain fate.

With last week’s heat menace dissipating in key market areas and the generally lower demand of a weekend coming up, no one got caught by surprise when prices softened Friday by mostly double-digit amounts. A majority of declines were between a dime and 20 cents, with larger ones concentrated in California and a few Northeast citygates.

In a session strikingly similar to last Friday, natural gas futures opened higher, only to shuffle lower throughout the morning Tuesday as traders elected to look past the hottest temperatures yet this summer to focus on the likelihood of bearish storage news to be released this afternoon. After gapping higher at the open, the September contract was unable to attract much in the way of follow-through buying. As a result, the prompt month tumbled 5.6 cents lower yesterday to take back gains achieved Monday and to close even with Friday’s settle at $2.971.