California regulators have taken a potentially precedent-settingstep by asking FERC to condition a certificate for Questar’sproposed Southern Trails Pipeline on the company first agreeing torecover from in-state customers the costs of social programs thatwould be potentially stranded by its bypass of Southern CaliforniaGas (SoCalGas).
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Dynegy Getting It Right; Earnings, Margins Up
Dynegy Inc. has taken “all the right steps” in its long-termplanning over the last three to four years and “the future is nowat Dynegy,” Chairman Chuck Watson said in announcing vastlyimproved profits in 1998 over 1997. Overall the company had 1998net income in the plus column of $108.4 million or $0.66 perdiluted share, a figure just slightly larger than the one recordedin the minus column in 1997.
Northeast Plunge Only Major Deviation From Flatness
Some traders figured they might as well have taken off Tuesdayfor Martin Luther King Day; the cash market to which they returnedseemed about as quiet and low-key as it had been most of last week.Prices showed little variance from weekend numbers, with mostpoints registering as flat to less than a nickel up or down.
Producer-Owned Pan Alberta Opens for Business
After months of negotiations and two years of wrangling inCanadian courts, Pan-Alberta Gas Ltd. has been taken over by theproducers in its supply pool.
EES Gets Taken Out To the Ballgame
Enron Energy Services Inc. (EES) will be the exclusive providerof electricity and energy and facilities management services forthe San Francisco Giants through a 10-year energy commodityagreement and a 15-year management contract for Pacific Bell Park.
British Columbia Gearing Up for Faster Development
Moving right along on the road to increased Canadian productionand exports, the provincial government in British Columbia hastaken the first step toward removing regulatory roadblocks bycreating a single agency to deal with the oil and gas industry andlocating it in producer territory. The B.C. government alsoanounced it has made peace with native communities on behalf of theindustry.
Williams Buys Back Kern River Option
Williams’ Kern River Pipeline has taken action to ensure itscontinued control over market access, completing an agreement tobuy-out a future option on the California portion of the line heldby Southern California Gas. The option would have been exercisablein 2012.
Fitch Affirms Enron, Notes Foreign Exposure
Recent uncertainties and declines in the economies of emergingmarket countries have taken their toll in recent weeks on the stockprices of companies with significant foreign investment exposure.In the natural gas industry that includes Enron Corp. which chosethis time period to pledge over $3 billion to additional foreigninvestments.
Rocky 2Q for Aquila Gas Pipeline, Sale Questionable
Aquila Gas Pipeline might be taken off the auction block inlight of depressed gas liquids prices and the fear a sale pricewon’t do justice to the company’s value. Indeed, the company’ssecond quarter results were something less than stellar. Net incomewas $1.4 million, down from $7 million in the second quarter of1997. This despite the fact gas throughput and marketed volumesaveraged a record 1.4 Bcf/d, compared to 1.2 Bcf/d in the secondquarter of last year. However, total system throughput was 446MMcf/d, compared to 534 MMcf/d in the second quarter of 1997. Anincrease in gas volumes marketed off system to 954 MMcf/d from 642MMcf/d in the second quarter of 1997 reflects the continuedincreased emphasis on marketing activities. Liquids productiondecreased to 25,000 barrels/d from 38,000 barrels/d 2Q 1997. Lowliquids prices were the reason for the decline.
August Futures Face Major Bearish Hurdle
The August Nymex contract may have taken a significant steptoward posting further losses on Friday, but the jury on that isstill out. After August fell below major support at $2.32 Friday,enough buyers stepped in to prevent the spot month from moving anylower than $2.30. That enabled August to settle the day down 4.0cents to $2.309, but more selling could be in store when tradingresumes today. “I think a lot of traders took off early Fridayafternoon, or were simply not interested in putting in fresh openpositions before the weekend,” an analyst commented.