The Federal Trade Commission has issued a proposed consent orderrequiring Shell Oil subsidiaries Tejas Energy and Transok to divest171 miles of the 690 miles of natural gas gathering lines recentlyacquired from Coastal Corp. subsidiaries in Oklahoma and the TexasPanhandle.
Trade
Articles from Trade
November Edges Higher in Uninspired Trade
The November contract debuted as the prompt month yesterday byposting modest gains during a quiet trading session that saw nofresh news. November opened lower and quickly tested Monday’s $2.27low, but light commercial buying helped drive the market up 4.5cents to settle at 2.347 for the day. Estimated volume was a modest33,428.
Futures Test Trading Range, Slip Minutely
The futures market continued to trade sideways to finish out theweek on Friday despite the large bearish sentiment, underpinned byfundamentals, that continues to dominant the market. The Septembercontract may have slipped only slightly to settle at $1.947, but itwas not for a lack of trying. Friday produced very choppy tradingthat had the prompt month bouncing between the $1.90 and $2.00.
Futures Lower in Pre-AGA Trade
The futures market opened stronger Wednesday, and looked poisedto remain range-bound ahead of the weekly American Gas Association(AGA) storage report. But a crowd of sellers came out in theafternoon, sending the September contract down 6.8 cents to $1.917.Estimated volume was 83,479.
August Futures Turn to Access Trading For Price Move
Many people have been saying August is a difficult futurescontract to trade right now because of a lack of clear cut marketdirection, and the last two trading days have proven those peoplecorrect. After closing unchanged Tuesday, the August contract wasonly able to gain 0.1 cents to settle Wednesday at $2.366. “How amI supposed to make a living in this kind of environment?” a brokerjested.
Moler May Lack Political Clout for DOE
Officials of key electricity trade groups question whetherDeputy Energy Secretary Elizabeth Moler has the political cloutneeded to be considered as a serious candidate by the White Houseto replace departing Energy Secretary Federico Pena.
Prices Mostly Lower in Subdued Trade
Following a frenetic week of April trading featuring near20-cent price swings and unusually high volume in both futures andcash markets, Monday’s market exhibited a calmness that remindedtraders April is a shoulder month. But, regardless of the smalllosses and lack of excitement generated yesterday, prices are stillat their highest levels since the December bidweek and as much as80 cents above year ago levels.
KCBT Open Interest Continues to Surge
The Western Natural Gas Futures contract on the Kansas CityBoard of Trade has continued its rapid expansion, with openinterest surpassing 9,000 contracts for the first time everTuesday. KCBT said long-time participants have been “putting onincreasingly large positions” and “a number of new participantsalso have entered the market.” A floor trader mentioned PG&Eand Southern Energy Marketing as being two big players. KN Energy,Oneok and Duke alsowere reported as recent big entrants.
Another Dull Day At the Merc
Volatility at the New York Mercantile Exchange has become so low the April contract was only able to trade within a narrow 3.5 centrange Tuesday, from $2.14-$2.175. The contract settled unchangedat $2.155.
Consultant: Mexico Tariff Holds Up Pipes
The current North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) tariffon gas imports into Mexico is holding up pipeline development fromthe U.S. to northern Mexico, said consultant George Baker of Baker& Associates. “The only people that have to pay this tariff arethe private industry who would contract with a U.S. gas supplier.If they buy [gas] from Pemex [Petroleos Mexicanos], however, it’s arolled-in price and they don’t pay it.” The tariff, originally 10%in 1991, is rolled back 1% a year and currently stands at 5%.That’s still too high for the private sector to feel confident itcan make money shipping gas to Mexico, Baker told attendees Tuesdayat the conference portion of Houston Energy Expo ’98, formerlyknown as Gas Fair. “That’s an important delay, and the origin of itis largely Pemex’s wanting to say, ‘we’re not ready for competitionyet.’ Some people say, ‘have you ever heard of a state monopolythat has acknowledged that it’s ready for competition yet.’ Mostpeople say no.”