Trading

CMS Energy Corp.’s energy marketing unit, CMS Marketing,Services and Trading (CMS-MST), announced last week the acquisitionof Viron Corp., a Kansas City, MO-based energy services company,from York International for an undisclosed sum. Viron will operateunder the name CMS Viron Energy Services, a subsidiary of CMS-MST.The deal was signed and closed last week.

After resisting for nearly two trading sessions the promptcontract finally caved to selling pressure late Tuesday as localtraders liquidated the last of their positions. On that sour notethe October natural gas futures contract completed its tenure asprompt month yesterday by slipping 7.2 cents to $2.56. Estimatedvolume was robust as 122,906 contracts changed hands.

Claiming to be an innocent victim, TXU Energy Trading is seekinga stay of a decision ordering CNG Transmission to turn overpipeline capacity that was initially awarded to TXU toan existingpipeline shipper, who FERC found had properly exercised itsright-of-first-refusal (ROFR) for the capacity.

Amoco Energy Trading, Amoco Producing and Burlington Resourcestold FERC last week in a Section 5 complaint that they are losingmillions of dollars because of El Paso Natural Gas’ poor firmdelivery point allocation procedures at Topock, AZ.

Amoco Energy Trading, Amoco Producing and Burlington Resourcestold FERC this week in a Section 5 complaint that they are losingmillions of dollars because of El Paso Natural Gas’ poor firmdelivery point allocation procedures at Topock, AZ.

A $1.2 million discount paid up front in a lump sum and theprospects of picking up energy trading insights from an experiencednational trader are what prompted the nation’s largest municipalutility to sign a one-year gas agreement worth about $25 millionwith Houston-based Reliant Energy Services Inc. last month.

Amoco Production and Amoco Energy Trading have wasted no time inpetitioning the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to review FERC’srecent decision upholding Dynegy Marketing and Trade’s 1.3 Bcf/dcontract with El Paso Natural Gas.

CMS Marketing, Services and Trading (CMS-MST) expanded its Canadian presence last week as affiliate PremStar Energy Canada acquired ECNG Inc., an independent energy consulting firm, from El Paso Energy Marketing Canada Inc. for an undisclosed sum. PremStar worked together with a group of former executives from ECNG to acquire the firm.

Speculation around the much anticipated storage report continuedto run rampant yesterday on trading floors across the natural gasindustry and that coupled with steady fund buying was enough tolift the futures market higher for the third day in a row. TheSeptember contract raced off to a fast start, but was unable toretest the $2.72 high set last Thursday. After notching a $2.66high trade around 10:30 EST the prompt month was left to chopsideways before eventually settling up 4.4 cents at $2.642.