Shifts

As it shifts its portfolio toward more oily prospects, natural gas producer Williams Cos. said Monday it will pay $925 million to acquire 85,800 net acres in the Bakken Shale.

There appears to be a sea change in the making for the natural gas market as the focus shifts from the current mild weather and almost full storage to projections of a rapid fall-off in production. Analysts now are warning of a gathering storm in the form of higher prices this winter and into 2010, particularly if the economic recovery puts more industrial demand back online.

There appears to be a sea change in the making for the natural gas market as the focus shifts from the current mild weather and almost full storage to projections of a rapid fall-off in production. Analysts now are warning of a gathering storm in the form of higher prices this winter and into 2010, particularly if the economic recovery puts more industrial demand back online.

California regulators last Thursday adopted a new indexed process for setting major utilities’ returns on equity (ROE) using shifts in the interest rates on some of Moody’s Investors Service’s bond ratings. The action does not change the authorized profit-levels for any of the state’s major private-sector utilities. That was done late last year by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

California regulators Thursday adopted a new indexed process for setting major utilities’ returns on equity (ROE) using shifts in the interest rates on some of Moody’s Investors Service’s bond ratings. The action does not change the authorized profit-levels for any of the state’s major private-sector utilities. That was done late last year by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

The Senate last Tuesday approved by voice vote a measure that shifts $1 billion in funds that were set aside to aid low-income energy consumers in fiscal year 2007 to the current fiscal year. The bill has been sent to the House for action, where it faces an uncertain fate.

The Senate late Tuesday approved by voice vote a measure that shifts $1 billion in funds that were set aside to aid low-income energy in fiscal year 2007 to the current fiscal year.

While Hurricane Ivan’s strength weakened slightly Tuesday to a Category 4 with 140 mph sustained winds, the projected path shifted slightly to the West, putting the storm’s track on course to hit the Gulf of Mexico’s major oil and natural gas production areas in Mobile Bay, AL.

California’s Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, with the state budget crisis put to bed for the new fiscal year, is planning to turn his attention to energy. In his “state-of-the-state” address kicking off the year he emphasized the so-called hydrogen highway, energy efficiency and renewables, but he has stressed that much can be done within an existing law (AB 57) passed two years ago.