Unlike

U.S natural gas production in the second quarter decreased an estimated 1.25-1.75% sequentially and declined 3-3.5% from 2Q02, while Canadian production was flat sequentially and dropped 3.5-4.5% from last year’s numbers, according to a survey unveiled Thursday by Lehman Brothers analyst Thomas R. Driscoll.

U.S natural gas production in the second quarter decreased an estimated 1.25-1.75% sequentially and declined 3-3.5% from 2Q02, while Canadian production was flat sequentially and dropped 3.5-4.5% from last year’s numbers, according to a survey unveiled Thursday by Lehman Brothers analyst Thomas R. Driscoll.

Unlike the sharp drop and subsequent recovery of natural gas storage stocks in the winter of 2000-2001, today’s low storage levels may be a continuing phenomenon, analyst Stephen Smith said, indicating “embedded tightness” in the system.

Much like on Tuesday, most of the cash market tended to level off Thursday. Unlike Tuesday’s trading that brought an upturn largely to a halt, however, Thursday’s numbers arrested a price slide. With a modest bias to the downside, nearly all points ranged from flat to up or down about a nickel Thursday. Only San Juan-Blanco’s drop of about a dime broke the overall price mold.

Unlike pipes and shippers who appear to favor continuing negotiated rates, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) called on FERC this week to halt the negotiated-rate program for pipelines, claiming it has turned jurisdictional pipes into profit-takers and has resulted in abuses that were unforeseen by the Commission when it instituted the practice six years ago.

The significant rise in natural gas and oil prices since the first of the year has so far done nothing to encourage exploration and production (E&P) companies to increase their 2002 drilling budgets, said Salomon Smith Barney energy analyst Robert Morris Tuesday. Noting the clear trends emerging from first quarter reports, most producers appear willing to wait for compelling evidence that prices will remain on the rise, and use the cash flow from the current higher commodity prices to reduce debt and pursue acquisitions.

Unlike their neighbors in regulated states, consumers are paying higher prices and receiving less service in electricity-restructured states, according to a report released Thursday by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA). The non-profit CFA, composed of 285 pro-consumer groups, reported that “policymakers now face the prospect that the costs of ensuring retail competition in electricity markets will greatly exceed any efficiency gains, so electricity prices will rise, not decline.”

For the third trading session in a row, natural gas futuresopened higher yesterday, but unlike Monday when prices driftedlower, the movement was positive Tuesday as traders positionedthemselves ahead of today’s storage report and the continuation ofunseasonably cold temperatures.

Unlike the East-West divergence in price movement thatcharacterized the first two trading days of the week, all marketswere on the same page Wednesday. Price increases ranged from abouta nickel to 20 cents, with most of them in the vicinity of a dime.