Shed

Maintaining Monday’s downward price momentum, May natural gas futures on Tuesday shed another 11.2 cents to finish the regular session at $7.418. More impressively, the contract’s trading range on the day seemed to point towards the possibility that the week’s 38.3-cent drop through Tuesday might be added to on Wednesday.

Indicative of its continuing efforts to shed debt, Calpine Corp. last Monday said it agreed to sell all of its Canadian proved natural gas and oil reserves (221 Bcfe) to PrimeWest Energy Trust for C$825 million, or about US$625 million. Calpine said it expects to close the sale early next month, pending “regulatory approval and other conditions of closing.” Later in the week, Calpine announced the sale of Rocky Mountain natural gas reserves for an estimated $223 million.

Indicative of its continuing efforts to shed debt, Calpine Corp. Monday said it has agreed to sell all of its 221 Bcfe proved natural gas and oil reserves to PrimeWest Energy Trust for C$825 million, or about US$625 million. Calpine said it expects to close the sale early next month, pending “regulatory approval and other conditions of closing.”

Stopping the rally from last week at least temporarily, August natural gas futures on its way towards expiration dropped 17.7 cents on Monday to close at $5.957. The drop almost erased last Thursday’s 22.1-cent rally, which was sparked by the first bullish natural gas storage report in many weeks (see Daily GPI, July 23).

Continuing its march toward realizing its $3.4 billion asset divestment plan for 2003, El Paso Corp. on Thursday sold various Mid-Continent and northern Louisiana midstream assets to Regency Gas Services LLC, an affiliate of Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC. Subject to closing conditions, El Paso valued the transaction at $120 million. The deal is expected to close by the end of the second quarter 2003.

Continuing its march towards realizing its $3.4 billion asset divestment plan for 2003, El Paso Corp. on Thursday sold various Mid-Continent and Northern Louisiana midstream assets to Regency Gas Services LLC, an affiliate of Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC. Subject to closing conditions, El Paso valued the transaction at $120 million. The deal is expected to close by the end of the second quarter 2003.

Reliant Resources said Friday it has shed 41 more jobs within its wholesale energy operations, mostly positions related to trading-commercial and technical services.

Attempting to shed its former identity as Reliant Energy Inc., CenterPoint Energy Inc. unveiled its first earnings statement as a new holding company, reporting third quarter earnings down 12% compared with the same period a year ago. However, CenterPoint management said going forward, things look better, and they increased year-over-year earnings guidance Ito a range of $1.30 to $1.35, up from a previous forecast of $1.17 to $1.22 per diluted share.

In what one analyst described as setting the pace for the energy industry, Tulsa-based Williams last week said it plans to cut capital spending by $1 billion, or 25%, next year and sell non-core assets to raise between $250 million and $750 million in a scheme to strengthen its balance sheet. Williams also plans to issue $1 billion in mandatory convertible preferred securities in 2002, all steps in a plan to retain its investment-grade credit rating.