Tied

Domestic gas production is expected to show an increase from the first quarter of about 0.5% and about 3.4% growth compared to the second quarter of last year, Salomon Smith Barney (SSB) said in a second quarter preview last week. However, SSB analysts warned that the pace of domestic drilling could slow significantly if gas prices drop below $3.

Domestic gas production is expected to show an increase from the first quarter of about 0.5% and about 3.4% growth compared to the second quarter of last year, Salomon Smith Barney (SSB) said in a second quarter preview yesterday. However, SSB analysts warned that the pace domestic drilling could slow significantly if gas prices drop below $3.

There will be ample natural gas to meet the needs of power generators this summer and to inject into storage for next winter due to the growing number of industrial customers exiting the gas market as a result of escalating prices, said trading executives last week.

There will be ample natural gas to meet the needs of power generators this summer and to inject into storage for next winter due to the growing number of industrial customers exiting the gas market as a result of escalating prices, said trading executives yesterday.

Separate class action lawsuits tied to California’s natural gasand electricity price spikes were filed Monday alleging that a”conspiracy” dating back to 1996 between Sempra Energy’s twoutility companies and El Paso Natural Gas has contributed to thestate’s skyrocketing energy prices and short supplies.

If the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality slows downthe permit approval process for companies eager to begin coal bedmethane projects in the state, the largest producers already thereare expected to have no trouble meeting their drilling schedulesthrough at least the first quarter of 2001. Anticipating thehearings, many had already moved proposed drilling projects for2001 through the regulatory process.

Chevron, Conoco and Murphy Exploration & Production claim the federal government has tied into a “proverbial Gordian Knot” their efforts to develop nine leases in the Destin Dome 56 project, 25 miles offshore Pensacola, FL.

Chevron, Conoco and Murphy Exploration & Production claimthe federal government has tied into a “proverbial Gordian Knot”their efforts to develop nine leases in the Destin Dome 56 project,25 miles offshore Pensacola, FL. The three producers have filed abreach-of-contract lawsuit against the government, saying a”regulatory Catch 22” between the Commerce Department and theEnvironmental Protection Agency has frozen the review process andprevented the project from ever being approved.

While Pennsylvania and New York are tied for the lead inelectric restructuring, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and RhodeIsland made the greatest progress so far this year, according to ananalysis by the Center for the Advancement of Energy Markets(CAEM), an independent consulting firm based in Burke, VA.