Sometimes

Local distribution companies contending with tight gas supplies, volatile pricing and sometimes the threat of hurricane-related shut-ins do well to remember the virtues of diversity — specifically, diversity of supply, transportation and pricing strategies.

Citing a “constructive dialogue” it is seeking in its sometimes contentious relations with Montana regulators, South Dakota-based NorthWestern Energy Thursday submitted a third-party audit of its electric and natural gas utility operations in the state, recommending improvements in some areas. The company, which just settled a pending investigation by the Montana Consumer Counsel, said it hoped the audit improves its ongoing relations with state officials.

Ending six weeks of arduous and sometimes rancorous debate, the Democrat-led Senate last Thursday passed sweeping energy legislation, the Energy Policy Act of 2002, that dangles “carrots” in front of pipeline companies to build an Alaskan natural gas transportation system, gives small producers multi-billion dollar tax breaks to spur domestic oil and gas production, increases renewable fuel use and production, and offers reforms to further enhance competition in the electricity markets.

Old Man Winter is showing signs of surprising longevity for an aging senior citizen. The cold and sometimes snowy weather that had been around earlier in the week in the Rockies was leaving that region Friday but was showing up or expected in much of the East.

In a stunningly well-mannered reaction, considering what the market sometimes does after receiving fresh fundamental news, natural gas futures dipped slightly lower Thursday morning as traders learned that a larger-than-expected 68 Bcf was added to underground storage facilities last week. By 11:20 a.m. EDT the June contract had carved out its low for the session, leaving the prompt month to shuffle sideways within an extremely tight 5-cent range for the rest of the day. June settled at $3.438, down 2.1 cents from Wednesday’s close.

As pipeline planners head north into regions where the population is primarily – and sometimes exclusively – aboriginal, Canada’s National Energy Board is laying out a formula for turning touchy relations into business relationships: Make deals, not regulations.

As pipeline planners head north into regions where the population is primarily — and sometimes exclusively — aboriginal, Canada’s National Energy Board is laying out a formula for turning touchy relations into business relationships: Make deals, not regulations.

Like dreams, rumors sometimes come true-and more frequentlythese days when the gossip foretells of yet another energy industryconsolidation. Last week’s buzz became this week’s ballyhoo Mondaywhen El Paso Energy and Sonat Inc. said they will merge in a $6billion deal.

Perceptions of whether September prices were still fallingFriday sometimes depended on the specific market. A trader in theSouthwest basins said numbers bounced around a bit Friday butessentially had hit bottom late Thursday. But another source saidChicago citygates continued to fall to a low of $1.62.