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Two transactions announced Tuesday suggest that the midstream sector is not suffering from a shortage of capital — or of those who see an opportunity to make a buck gathering, processing and marketing gas production.

The results of a FERC survey suggest that about 37,500 MW of electricity demand response (DR) potential currently exists in the U.S. That figure is based on existing DR efforts in the U.S., not the total potential if DR had more penetration in the country.

Kenneth Lay, long-time chairman of Enron Corp., is expected to be indicted on criminal charges within the next two weeks regarding his activities during the final months at the failed energy company, according to sources. If the indictment is handed out, it most likely would resolve the biggest work of the Enron Task Force’s two-and-a-half-year investigation.

(substituting for & correcting previous story in Daily GPI, April 20)

With natural gas supplies continuing their downward trend, Oklahoma Energy Secretary David Fleischaker said Monday that unconventional natural gas resources and new northern gas pipelines should be the main focus for North American producers going forward — not liquefied natural gas (LNG).

There is no evidence to suggest that events in Michigan or actions taken by Michigan utilities or transmission operators were factors contributing to the cause of the massive Aug. 14 blackout that rippled across large swaths of the United States and parts of Canada, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) said in the first comprehensive, state-specific report to be released related to the blackout.

An initial review undertaken by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seems to suggest the spike in natural gas prices in the Northeast and elsewhere last week was “fundamentally driven” by market forces, rather than abusive practices, said the head of the agency’s Office of Market Oversight and Investigations (OMOI) last Wednesday.

Although indexes won’t be set until Friday, the bidweek numbersbeing reported to GPI suggest that October prices will reflectmonth-to-month declines of about 30 cents, give or take a fewpennies. A Southwest-oriented marketer said October looked a bitsofter on Wednesday, but a Calgary trader said intra-Alberta priceshad been rising into the low to mid C$3.20s since Monday.

While the abundance of gas now in storage has analystspredicting soft prices in the coming months, others suggest thecharacter of storage operations will be changing as more and moremarketers take title to storage capacity from LDCs. Storage held bylocal distribution companies and power generators typically hasbeen used to ensure supply. Marketers holding storage or optimizingstorage assets under contract with LDCs see storage as a financialopportunity in addition to a supply insurance policy. Thearbitrageurs will handle their storage differently when suppliesget tight, said Pete Kinsella, Columbia Gas Transmission vicepresident of marketing and volume management.