Solid

Swift Energy said Tuesday its domestic production in the second quarter increased 20% to 10.2 Bcfe compared to the 2003 second quarter production of 8.5 Bcfe, but was 2% lower than first quarter 2004 volumes of 10.4 Bcfe. The company also announced that it will boost its capital spending budget for the year by 20% to $160-175 million in response to higher expected cash flow due to high commodity prices and, to a lesser extent, rising production volumes.

The swing market achieved a fairly substantial recovery Monday from weekend softness. Advances ranged from about a nickel at a couple of South Texas points to more than 30 cents in the Southwest basins. Most were in double digits between a dime and a quarter.

Noting a drop off in excess power generation capacity in the West, Duke Energy CEO Paul Anderson last Wednesday told a gathering of financial professions that he thinks the Western energy market will recover “more strongly than others” over the next couple of years.

They didn’t make up all the ground lost in Friday’s plunge, but prices did see solid across-the-board rebounds Monday. Sources cited the continuing creep eastward in the northern tier of states of cold weather that had been confined to the West last week as a significant factor, but also mentioned delayed influence from a screen surge Friday and the return of industrial load following a weekend.

ChevronTexaco Corp.’s stock restructuring deal with Dynegy Inc. may help it realize a gain in its third quarter income, and also help it book an increase in the value of its Dynegy securities in its second quarter report, the company said after the Dynegy announcement last week (see related story).

Driven by pipeline earnings within its master limited partnership (MLP) and a solid performance from fee-based assets, Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) reported a 29% increase in second quarter earnings on Wednesday. The company also announced major changes to its executive compensation policies to more closely align with what the CEO called shareholder interests.

Driven by pipeline earnings within its master limited partnership (MLP) and a solid performance from fee-based assets, Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) reported a 29% increase in second quarter earnings on Wednesday. The company also announced major changes to its executive compensation policies to more closely align with what the CEO called shareholder interests.

Fresh off of the issuance of a Department of Energy (DOE) study finding solid net benefits from FERC’s proposed standard market design (SMD), FERC Chairman Pat Wood last Wednesday said that he wants to “take the lead” from Congress in terms of the timing for implementing a final rule in the SMD proceeding.

Prices managed to sustain this week’s near-solid upward price movement Thursday, but there were hints that the bullish streak may be coming to an end. New upticks ranged from about a nickel to a quarter, but were mostly moderate at around a dime or less.