Unanimous

Pipelines and producers are showering unanimous praise on a pledge by the Canadian government to prevent a repetition of the regulatory ordeal delaying and possibly aborting the Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP).

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2006 Wednesday night by unanimous voice vote. The act is seen as essential for the energy industry because it provides funding and direction for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s pipeline safety oversight programs.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee last Wednesday approved by unanimous voice vote a pipeline safety reauthorization bill that calls on the Department of Transportation (DOT) to review the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) recommendation for longer intervals between safety reassessments of natural gas pipelines, and to transmit “appropriate legislative changes” to Congress.

Following the week’s first two trading days in which a few points were left out of overall increases, the market made it unanimous: all points were up Wednesday, and nearly all of the gains were in double digits. The prior-day screen spike, still-substantial cooling load across the southern U.S. and lingering tropical storm concerns all played a part in the continuing price advance.

The Senate on Friday approved by unanimous consent three new members to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — Philip D. Moeller, Jon Wellinghoff and Marc Spitzer.

The Senate on Friday approved by unanimous consent three new members to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — Philip D. Moeller, Jon Wellinghoff and Marc Spitzer. With the addition of the new commissioners, it will be the first time in nearly six years — except for a brief three-month period — that all five FERC seats have been filled.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee by unanimous voice vote Wednesday approved the nomination of Marc Spitzer for a seat on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The favorable vote places him in queue with two other FERC nominees who are awaiting confirmation by the full Senate.

The cash market finally made it unanimous. Following four days in which a few points had run counter to the prevailing trend up or down each day, all prices were moving in the same direction Friday — way down. The major softening had been predictable in light of the screen’s dive of nearly 81 cents Thursday and forecasts of moderate to cool temperatures in most areas for the weekend.

Once again there were a few backsliders and one flat point to keep price direction from being unanimous, but Friday’s quotes moved overwhelmingly to the higher side. In light of significant reductions of cooling load in northern market areas since the first half of last week, sources said the initial August aftermarket’s bullishness was due primarily to the screen’s four-day string of advances covering the July-August transition.