Utilizing

As Canada’s largest natural gas producer, Encana Corp. has built a track record for utilizing natural gas instead of diesel to power some of its drilling rigs, and as the price of natural gas has fallen the exploration and production (E&P) giant is even expanding to using liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the rigs.

As Canada’s largest natural gas producer, Encana Corp. has built a track record for utilizing natural gas instead of diesel to power some of its drilling rigs, and as the price of natural gas has fallen the exploration and production (E&P) giant is even expanding to using liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the rigs.

As has been rumored for weeks, French energy giant Total SA is paying $2.32 billion to acquire a one-quarter stake in Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s massive Utica Shale leasehold in Ohio in the second big partnership targeting unconventional oil and gas between the companies.

July natural gas futures rose sharply on a combination of technical buying ahead of the long weekend and algorithmic traders utilizing buy stop orders to limit losses. At the close July had advanced 15.8 cents to $4.518 and August had risen 15.2 cents to $4.557.

Citing low linepack, Transwestern issued an Alert Day for the West of Thoreau area for Tuesday’s gas day. Transwestern said it was utilizing an Alert Day rather than an OFO because the low linepack is not attributable to performance of particular receipt or delivery points. Transwestern said it hopes that the lowpack conditions will subside enough to allow the Alert Day to be canceled, but meanwhile operators should plan for this operating provision to be in effect for the entire gas day.

Tennessee lifted Thursday a Critical Day 1 OFO Alert (see Daily GPI, Nov. 4) for customers under Rate Schedules LMS-MA and LMS-PA. However, customers under Rate Schedule FS, including customers utilizing the Storage Swing Option (SSO) service, will remain subject to the alert until further notice.

Dynegy’s merchant power “leveraging” strategy, utilizinggeneration plants added over the last year, produced a whopper of afirst quarter. The company posted a 127% increase in net incomeafter special items to $28.1 million, or $0.17/share, from $12.3million, or $0.07/share in 1Q98. Recurring net income increased 20%to $22.3 million.