Went

One of the most significant regulatory events at FERC in 1998went by practically unnoticed: the word “proposed” was put backinto the notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR), said CommissionerCurt Hebert Jr. in reflecting on his first full year at the agency.Commissioner Linda K. Breathitt, who also just ended her initialyear, agreed “proposed” took on a “stronger meaning” in a specificNOPR last year, but she hardly found it to be precedent-setting.

The cash market, seeing essentially nothing in the way ofdirectional influence, went into a holding pattern Thursday withfew points straying any further than 2-3 cents on either side offlat. A screen drop of just under a penny was deemedinconsequential, and even though some market areas were seeingnear-freezing temperatures Thursday, forecasts of warmer weatherfor the weekend through the middle of next week tempered any buyingenthusiasm.

Phase I of Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line’s Mobile Bay Lateralexpansion went into operation last Saturday providing 350 MMcf/d ofcapacity from the Outer Continental Shelf to Station 82 and 214MMcf/d onshore from Station 82 to Transco’s mainline near Butler,AL. July 1 was the initially targeted in-service date.

The July Nymex contract went off the board in wild fashionFriday, as the spot month reached a high of $2.45 before plummetingto a low of $2.33 just before the closing bell. Despite thevolatility, July’s final $2.358 settlement price left the contractdown just 0.6 cents for the day.

“Everything basically went back to index,” said a trader onLouisiana pipes Thursday after prices had slipped to either side of$2. Markets were down across the board, even in previously immuneintra-Alberta. Reasons for the softness weren’t hard to find:moderating weather, a huge storage injection report and a plungingfutures screen.

The April Nymex contract went off the board in bearish fashionon Friday as the spot month fell 3.8 cents to conclude its tradingat $2.300. A broker noted this was as “boring” a settlement day ashe could remember, probably because low volatility last week gavetraders ample opportunities to get out of their positions beforeFriday, he said.