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The prospect of the first significant voluntary production shut-ins in years is looming for the gas industry in about another month or so, according to an informal sampling of opinions among the trading community (“voluntary” means unrelated to a hurricane, pipeline maintenance or force majeure event). While a majority of sources fully expect to see such shut-ins beginning within a few weeks, it’s not a foregone conclusion, said a few dissenters.

Stemming a string of expiration-day losses at six, natural gas futures eked out a slim gain Friday as traders covered shorts ahead of the weekend and in anticipation of hot weather forecast for this week. The August contract went off the board without much fanfare, up 3.9 cents for the session and 21.2 cents for the week, but down 11.9 cents since it became the prompt contract back on June 27. Estimated volume was modest for an expiration day, with just 92,001 contracts changing hands.

While gas traders, especially those who deal with western points, pondered the ramifications of the PG&E bankruptcy filing (see related story), most of the cash market saw moderate firmness Friday. A large majority of the upticks were in the vicinity of a dime, although scattered points rose as much as about 15 cents and others were up only about a nickel. There were small declines in the Rockies and substantially larger ones in California.

The Houston Exploration Co. announced on Wednesday the appointment of William G. Hargett as president and CEO. He succeeds James G. Floyd who is retiring after holding those positions for 15 years. Houston Exploration said that Hargett’s extensive technical expertise within the energy industry, most recently as president, North America at Santa Fe Snyder Corp., make him more than qualified for the job. The company also announced that Randall Fleming, senior vice president, exploration and production, has elected to retire from Houston Exploration. As one of the original members of Houston Exploration, Fleming brought his exploration knowledge to the company’s drilling programs in the Gulf of Mexico as well as its onshore programs. Additionally, the company reported that Thomas W. Powers has been promoted to the new position of senior vice president, CFO and treasurer. Houston Exploration will host analyst meetings on Wednesday, April 18 to introduce Hargett and Houston Exploration’s management team.

The Houston Exploration Co. announced on Wednesday the appointment of William G. Hargett as president and CEO. He succeeds James G. Floyd who is retiring after holding those positions for 15 years. Houston Exploration said that Hargett’s extensive technical expertise within the energy industry, most recently as president, North America at Santa Fe Snyder Corp., make him more than qualified for the job. The company also announced that Randall Fleming, senior vice president, exploration and production, has elected to retire from Houston Exploration. As one of the original members of Houston Exploration, Fleming brought his exploration knowledge to the company’s drilling programs in the Gulf of Mexico as well as its onshore programs. Additionally, the company reported that Thomas W. Powers has been promoted to the new position of senior vice president, CFO and treasurer. Houston Exploration will host analyst meetings on Wednesday, April 18 to introduce Hargett and Houston Exploration’s management team.

In a country attempting to embrace electricity restructuring,it’s no wonder that breakdowns like those experienced in Californiacan shake the foundation of programs 1,000 miles away. Not trueaccording to the Center for the Advancement of Energy Markets'(CAEM) latest Retail Energy Deregulation Index (RED Index) releasedlast week, which actually showed that a number of states arerecording progress.

For those who are still scrambling for explanations on why gasprices have reached record levels, Salomon Smith Barney (SSB)meteorologist Jon Davis offered a brief synopsis last week of whathappened with the weather last month. November 2000 was the secondcoldest November in 106 years and it was a complete reversal fromNovember 1999, which was the warmest November in 106 years.

For those who are still scrambling for explanations on why gasprices have reached record levels, Salomon Smith Barney (SSB)meteorologist Jon Davis offered a brief synopsis last week of whathappened with the weather last month. November 2000 was the secondcoldest November in 106 years and it was a complete reversal fromNovember 1999, which was the warmest November in 106 years.

If you were among those amazed by the virtual hailstorm ofmergers and acquisitions in the power and utility sector this year,PricewaterhouseCoopers warns, you haven’t seen anything yet.According to an M&A forecast by the Transaction Services groupwithin the firm, the “once sleepy and over-regulated [energy]industry” is the key M&A segment to watch in 2001.