Weakened

Hurricane Rita weakened slightly Thursday afternoon, dropping to a Category Four with 145 mph winds from a peak of 175 mph, and with a track moving away from Houston, the National Hurricane Center has reported. The hurricane continued on a northwesterly track through the Gulf of Mexico, but its path continued to edge more north than west, pointing the storm through the heart of the offshore oil and gas production area and aiming toward landfall late Friday or early Saturday Near Port Arthur, TX near the Texas-Louisiana border.

Prices for the last four days of May fell across the board Friday. As a source had predicted, the market weakened under the pressure of milder weather trends, Thursday’s expiration-day drop of 19.2 cents in June futures, a second straight bearish storage report and the greater loss of industrial load associated with a holiday weekend.

The natural gas futures market continued lower Monday as sellers continued to apply pressure to a market weakened by last Thursday’s smaller-than-expected, 89 Bcf storage withdrawal. Though the selling was not especially well organized, it was effective and produced a fractionally sub-$7 settlement for the prompt contract on its penultimate trading session. April, which expires at 2:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, closed Monday at $6.999, down 6.3 cents on the day.

While Hurricane Ivan’s strength weakened slightly Tuesday to a Category 4 with 140 mph sustained winds, the projected path shifted slightly to the West, putting the storm’s track on course to hit the Gulf of Mexico’s major oil and natural gas production areas in Mobile Bay, AL.

Natural gas prices weakened significantly in August as cooling demand levels and peak power demand stayed well below normal for the second month in a row, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook for September. But it expects spot gas prices to bounce back once the winter heating season starts.

Natural gas prices weakened significantly in August as cooling demand levels and peak power demand stayed well below normal for the second month in a row, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook for September. But it expects spot gas prices to bounce back once the winter heating season starts.

After being in denial for months over the weakened Mid Atlantic market for new pipeline capacity, Greenbrier Pipeline Co. LLC finally succumbed to reality last week, announcing an indefinite delay for its proposed 279-mile pipeline. Project sponsor Dominion Resources told FERC on Wednesday that it has suspended field work on Greenbrier while considering whether to shift budgeted funds to further expanding infrastructure related to the recently recommissioned Cove Point LNG import terminal in Maryland.

After being in a state of denial for months over the weakened Mid Atlantic market for new pipeline capacity, Greenbrier Pipeline Co. LLC finally succumbed to reality Thursday, announcing an indefinite delay for its proposed 279-mile pipeline. The project would have provided 585 MMcf/d of firm transportation capacity to LDCs and power plants in the Mid Atlantic region starting in fall 2005 (see Daily GPI, April 3, Oct. 20).

The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) on Monday launched an investigation examining the establishment of standards and criteria for financially weakened gas and electric utilities “to assure retail customers continuity of service, including, in particular, continuity in the quality of that utility service.”