Wins

A Colorado district court last week ordered a Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) affiliate to pay Questar TransColorado nearly $110 million in damages, after it declared as “valid and enforceable” a 1997 agreement and 1998 letter of understanding that allowed Questar Corp. to sell its 50% ownership of its pipeline subsidiary to KMI’s KN TransColorado (KNTC), which owns the other 50%.

A Colorado district court late Monday ordered a Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) affiliate to pay Questar TransColorado nearly $110 million in damages, after it declared as “valid and enforceable” a 1997 agreement and 1998 letter of understanding that allowed Questar Corp. to sell its 50% ownership of its pipeline subsidiary to KMI’s KN TransColorado (KNTC), which owns the other 50%.

In a major victory for energy traders, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) last week withdrew her controversial amendment to re-regulate the trading of over-the-counter (OTC) energy and metals derivatives after the Senate defeated a cloture motion to end debate on the measure.

In an ironic twist, the same Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) administrative law judge (ALJ) who had cited Oneok for contempt in May for refusing to turn over documents related to an OCC investigation last Wednesday granted the company’s motion for a stay in the state attorney general’s request that the company be cited for contempt for not turning over the same documents related to natural gas sales made last winter.

In an ironic twist, the same Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) administrative law judge (ALJ) who had cited Oneok for contempt in May for refusing to turn over documents related to an OCC investigation on Wednesday granted the company’s motion for a stay in the state attorney general’s request that the company be cited for contempt for not turning over the same documents related to natural gas sales made last winter.

Following the sizeable Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 180 held by the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) last week, many exploration and production companies were quick to report their deals. Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corp. and partners reported that they were the high bidders on 42 blocks, Pioneer Natural Resources Co. was the apparent high bidder on 21 blocks and Devon Energy Corp. reported that it was the high bidder on nine blocks.

FERC cleaned house last week at its final regular meeting before its August hiatus, voting out a number of certificates, preliminary determinations and a Section 3 authorization for pipeline projects of Florida Gas Transmission (FGT), PG&E Transmission Northwest Corp., Colorado Interstate Gas Co. (CIG), Algonquin Gas Transmission/Texas Eastern Transmission (Tetco) and Otay Mesa Generating Co. LLC.

The lights will shine in the city of Columbus, OH, for at leastthe next five years if CMS Energy Corp. has anything to say aboutit. CMS Marketing, Services and Trading (CMS-MST) reported lastweek that it has been awarded a long term contract to providewholesale electricity and other energy services to the city’s13,000 residential and commercial customers.

The lights will shine in the city of Columbus, OH, for at leastthe next five years if CMS Energy Corp. has anything to say aboutit. CMS Marketing, Services and Trading (CMS-MST) reportedyesterday that it has been awarded a long term contract to providewholesale electricity and other energy services to the city’s13,000 residential and commercial customers.