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Notes: Prices are in U.S. $/MMbtu for dry gas traded on Thursday May 23, 2002 for May delivery. Dashes in the change column indicate that insufficient information was collected to update the corresponding price. Comma delimited format (Premium Service)Tab delimited format (Premium Service) ©Copyright 2002 Intelligence Press, Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report…

Feeling someone in Washington, DC, is finally listening to them, the 18-state Western Governors Association and its allies applauded the Senate’s adoption of an amendment last Thursday to the proposed energy bill that the governors believe will ensure a “regional role” in the development and enforcement of electricity grid reliability standards. Arizona’s Gov. Jane Dee Hull, chairperson of the Denver-based western governors’ group, called the action “good news for consumers and the industry.”

A decline in global and industrial demand for oil and natural gas is likely to drive commodity prices lower and keep them there for the near to intermediate term, according to an article in the latest edition of the Oil & Gas Insights newsletter from Fitch. As a result, the rating agency has lowered its price deck for oil and gas to $19.50 and $2.15, respectively, for 2002.

A decline in global and industrial demand for oil and natural gas is likely to drive commodity prices lower and keep them there for the near to intermediate term, according to an article in the latest edition of the ‘Oil & Gas Insights’ newsletter from Fitch. As a result, the rating agency has lowered its price deck for oil and gas to $19.50 and $2.15, respectively, for 2002.

Full requirements (FR) service for East of California customers, which gives them unlimited access to firm capacity at no additional demand charges, is a “significant contributing factor” to the shortfall of transportation capacity on El Paso Natural Gas, and the practice should be ended, said producers, marketers, utilities and other pipeline shippers last week. Even El Paso agreed that the time has come for FERC to address its FR contracts.

Full requirements (FR) service for East of California customers, which gives them unlimited access to firm capacity at no additional demand charges, is a “significant contributing factor” to the shortfall of transportation capacity on El Paso Natural Gas, and the practice should be ended, says Southern California Gas (SoCalGas).

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wants the natural gas and electric markets to “know that we are watching” them, said Chairman Curt Hebert yesterday during a press tour of FERC’s new Market Observation Resource Center (MOR) at its headquarters.

With temperatures going to highs in the 70s and 80s Tuesday,California started into a second day of rolling blackouts at 9:20a.m. PST, but cut them short in the afternoon as two key generatorswent back online and new supplies arrived from the Western AreaPower Administration (WAPA). At press time the early evening peakdemand was still in doubt, and it was possible blackouts wouldstart again.

It is often said that it takes markets longer to rise than itdoes for them to fall and that adage was never more true thanyesterday in the natural gas pit as prices finally recouped thelast of the massive $1.411 price erosion seen a week ago. Aftergapping higher on the open, the February contract shuffled mostlysideways Monday as traders awaited fresh medium-range weatherforecasts. At the closing bell, the prompt month was 42.8 centsstronger at $9.689.