Together

Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) CEO Rich Kinder, who put together a mega-deal to take the pipeline company private, said Wednesday he expects to have a final decision on the buyout from California regulators on May 24.

With the Midwest and Northeast huddling together for warmth as the coldest weather of the season sets in over the next couple of days, January natural gas futures in lethargic trading Thursday moved within a slim 23-cent range before closing at $7.671, down 5.6 cents on the day. Coming in well within expectations, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Thursday morning that 11 Bcf was removed from underground natural gas storage for the week ended Dec. 1.

The regulatory clock is ticking once again on two liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals that would be located offshore Gloucester, MA. Together the two nearly identical terminals, Excelerate’s Northeast Gateway LNG project and Suez Energy’s Neptune LNG project, could provide 800 MMcf/d of average daily gas supply to New England.

The regulatory clock is ticking once again on two liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals that would be located offshore Gloucester, MA. Together the two nearly identical terminals, Excelerate’s Northeast Gateway LNG project and Suez Energy’s Neptune LNG project, could provide 800 MMcf/d of average daily gas supply to New England.

Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski called on state lawmakers to pull together and approve a natural gas pipeline contract within the next month with the “Big Three” North Slope producers: BP plc, ExxonMobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips. Without approval, he warned, Alaska’s hopes to build a gas pipeline to the Lower 48 could be “slipping away.”

Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski called on state lawmakers to pull together and approve a natural gas pipeline contract within the next month with the “Big Three” North Slope producers: BP plc, ExxonMobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips. Without approval, he warned, Alaska’s hopes to build a gas pipeline to the Lower 48 could be “slipping away.”

Members of the jury in the trial of former Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, who had been together for four months, agreed to talk with the media about their deliberations on Thursday. They all said they didn’t buy Lay’s and Skilling’s testimony nor the evidence against them.

Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY) is working with several other lawmakers to put together a bill that seeks to improve the energy supply situation and lower both crude oil and natural gas prices.

After running up to reach a high of $8.280 last Wednesday, prompt-month natural gas futures have put together a string of down days with Tuesday being the fourth. May natural gas, which expires Wednesday, reached a low of $7.140 on Tuesday before closing at $7.254, down 30.4 cents on the day.