September

Southern Union Co. has responded to its top shareholder’s concerns and plans to have a master limited partnership (MLP) in place by the end of September. The MLP, announced as part of the Houston-based company’s long-range strategic plans, initially will hold the Southwest Gas Storage Co., but other assets eventually are expected to be moved into the partnership.

Lodi Gas Storage LLC is holding a nonbinding open season for firm storage capacity beginning in September 2008 in anticipation of expansion of its northern California facilities.

Strong after-hours Access trading Wednesday led to a 23.5-cent gap higher on the September contract at the open Thursday morning. The 57 Bcf injection into storage last week reported by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) triggered a brief 10-cent hiccup to a regular-session high of $7.20 at 10:30 a.m., but the market then succumbed to selling pressure still ending the day with a 20.4-cent gain at $7.079.

Atmos Energy Corp. and Equitrans LP are pinning their hopes on FERC approving their proposals in September to build new pipelines to ease the capacity constraint in eastern Kentucky that has led to natural gas production being shut in for much of the year in that region.

Sixty-six House lawmakers asked Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne Friday to table plans for a tentatively scheduled September oil and gas lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA) around the environmentally sensitive Teshekpuk Lake area.

Sixty-six House lawmakers urged Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne Friday to table plans for a tentatively scheduled September oil and gas lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA) around the environmentally sensitive Teshekpuk Lake area.

A month-long inquiry by Enron’s primary outside counsel in September 2001 into accounting issues raised by then-vice president Sherron Watkins determined that many of her charges were based on “footnotes to financial statements” and “office gossip,” a lawyer with Vinson & Elkins LLP (V&E) said Wednesday.

Following two days of mixed numbers, the cash market closed out September business Thursday with virtually all points on the same price page and skyrocketing (except for a flat Florida citygate). Dollar-plus spikes were frequent as quotes were jolted higher by the screen’s $1.251 move higher on Wednesday as October natural gas futures went off the board. Weather fundamentals are generally weak right now as comfortable early-autumn weather gets more firmly established in most areas.

A much slower natural gas market recovery is expected from Hurricane Katrina, relative to last September’s Hurricane Ivan, and “a real challenge” is shaping up for the upcoming heating season, with natural gas prices at times above $13/MMBtu because of the uncertainty the storm has created for winter storage, according to UK-based energy consultant Wood Mackenzie’s Jen Snyder.