Targets

Western Gas Resources, a Denver, CO-based independent gas producer, agreed Thursday to pay a civil penalty of $7 million in a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to resolve charges of attempted manipulation and reporting of false information by traders on natural gas transactions in the 1999-2002 time period.

BP plc’s share price slid 3% in early trading Tuesday after the London-based major missed its production targets and reported that its 4Q2006 oil and natural gas output fell for the sixth straight quarter on start-up delays in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and reduced oil flow from its Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska.

EnCana Corp. crushed analysts’ first quarter earnings estimates and said it’s on track to meet production growth targets, producing 3,343 MMcfe/d of natural gas during the quarter, a 6% increase from the same period last year.

While the major gas distributors in the state of New York are close to meeting their Nov. 1 storage inventory targets despite hurricane curtailments, the New York State Public Service Commission (NY PSC) said last Thursday it was concerned about the preparedness and reliability of one smaller investor-owned utility, Corning Natural Gas Corp. The commission took the “extraordinary actions” of calling on other gas companies in the state to provide supply to Corning on a mutual-aid assistance basis, and ordered Corning to show cause why a temporary operator should not be appointed to manage the utility.

While the major gas distributors in the state of New York are close to meeting their Nov. 1 storage inventory targets despite hurricane curtailments, the New York State Public Service Commission (NY PSC) Thursday said it was concerned about the preparedness and reliability of one smaller investor-owned utility, Corning Natural Gas Corp. The commission took the “extraordinary actions” of calling on other gas companies in the state to provide supply to Corning on a mutual-aid assistance basis, and ordered Corning to show cause why a temporary operator should not be appointed for the utility.

A shareholder derivative lawsuit was filed in a New Jersey state court on Friday by two pension funds that accuse Royal Dutch/Shell Group, former and current executives and auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG of failing to properly monitor company management.

A shareholder derivative lawsuit was filed in a New Jersey state court on Friday by two pension funds that accuse Royal Dutch/Shell Group, former and current executives and auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG of failing to properly monitor company management.

Kerr-McGee Corp. remains on track to hit its 2004 oil and natural gas production target of 310,000 boe/d, the company said Wednesday.

The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) expects to be joined by other trade associations and stakeholders in updating FERC next month on collaborative efforts aimed at developing a consensus on both the technical aspects of gas quality and interchangeability, as well as possible policy solutions, Donald Santa, president of INGAA, said last Wednesday.