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If you made the trip to Capitol Hill or were listening over theWeb yesterday, your jaw probably dropped a few inches when ChairmanThomas Bliley (R-VA) of the House Commerce Committee announced to apacked hearing room that he was postponing the scheduled markup onelectric restructuring legislation until next week.

As if crashing oil prices, fresh weather forecasts and the release of storage data were not enough Wednesday, the natural gas futures market was rocked again Thursday by a report of a pipeline rupture in the Gulf of Mexico (see related story this issue). Although the accident has since been dubbed a non-event, it produced a dramatic, if brief, spike in prices as commercial traders loaded up on contracts only to dump them just minutes later.

The odds of Congress passing electric restructuring legislationduring this session were reduced to next to nothing as the HouseCommerce Committee — which has been beset by infighting —postponed the long-awaited mark-up that was scheduled for lastweek. The committee could give “no firm date” for when it would berescheduled.

The odds of Congress passing electricity restructuringlegislation in this session were reduced to next to nothing as theHouse Commerce Committee—which has been beset by infighting—postponed the long-awaited mark-up that was scheduled for today.

Problems with the Blanco Plant’s D1 turbine (see Daily GPI, June 8) were not as severe as anticipated,El Paso said, and thus it was being returned to service Friday alongwith the rest of the plant instead of remaining down through Sunday aspreviously estimated.

How low can you go? Some traders likely were asking themselvesthat very question Wednesday afternoon after seeing cash pricescrater by about 20 cents or more at nearly all points that morningand then watching the screen go into a swoon immediately after theAGA storage report, which means the cash market is expected toregister big losses again today.

Cross Timbers Oil Co. of Fort Worth, TX, proved oil and gasreserves at year-end 1999 were estimated to be a record 2.02 Tcfe,up 23% compared with 1.64 Tcfe at year-end 1998. Cross Timbersadded 852 Bcfe during 1999 at a cost of 70 cents/Mcfe. Afterdeducting reserve sales of 325 Bcfe, the company replaced 527 Bcfeor 367% of 1999 production. The company’s development program,including the effect of revisions, replaced 341 Bcfe or 237% ofproduction at a cost of 28 cents/Mcfe.

Although industry comments on Order 637 still were tricklinginto FERC late Friday, it was clear that gas producers, both majorsand independents, and industrial customers had some of the biggestproblems with the final order by far, while the interstatepipelines and LDCs sought only minor tweaking of a “discrete” setof issues.

Although industry comments on Order 637 still were tricklinginto FERC late Friday, it was clear that gas producers, bothmajors and independents, and industrial customers had some of thebiggest problems with the final order by far, while the interstatepipelines and LDCs sought minor tweaking of a “discrete” set ofissues.