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Cash prices tended to make modest gains Thursday, with most ofthe strength concentrated at Texas points where significant airconditioning load is developing. Houston’s heat index shot up to102 degrees in the afternoon, said a local source. That caused ShipChannel numbers to rise a little over a nickel to the $2.20 area.Waha prices also benefited from the statewide heat and also roseslightly more than a nickel into the low $2.12s. However, late Wahaprices were tailing off slightly, a marketer said. The Texasheat-related upticks carried over into the Permian and San JuanBasins in a domino effect, another trader said.

California’s retail electric market kicks off in the earlymorning hours today (March 31) with the state-chartered wholesalespot market, the power exchange (PX), processing a market-clearingprice and generation schedules for another newly created statepublic benefits organization, the independent system operator(ISO), that will run the state transmission grid.

Independent Power Producer Cogentrix Energy has signed anagreement with Bechtel Enterprises Inc. to acquire Bechtel’sownership interests in 12 electric generating facilities, plus afractional share of Iroquois Pipeline. Most of the properties wereon the market as the result of PG&E Corp.’s acquisition lastfall of Bechtel’s interest in U.S. Generating Co. Regulatoryconstraints barred PG&E from acquiring certain of the USGenassets.

Columbia Natural Resources (CNR) has expanded operations toeastern Canada with the purchase of an interest in gas and oilwells and undeveloped property in Ontario. The US$3.6 millionacquisition from Paragon Petroleum of Calgary includes a 50%interest in 24 wells and 100% of 5,000 acres of undevelopedproperty. The owner of the other 50% of the wells is CanEnercoLtd., which will market gas production. “Our move into Canada isthe second expansion of CNR’s base of operation in less than ayear,” said W. Henry Harmon, CEO. CNR’s $101 million purchase ofAlamco Inc. last August increased reserves by 25% and expandedcompany operations into southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee.

February prices were flat to a little higher Monday, sourcesreported. One said buyers thought they would be able to knockprices down, “but you couldn’t.” There is plenty of demand and it’svirtually all storage-related, he went on. “All of a sudden we’reseeing February turn into an injection month,” and that’s what iskeeping demand high, he said

CNG Energy Services of Pittsburgh signed a three-year contractwith Ormet Corp., one the nation’s largest aluminum producers andsuppliers of aluminum products, to provide gas management servicefor eight Ormet facilities in the United States. The facilitiesconsume about 12 Bcf/year

With all regulatory approvals in place at both Federal andProvincial levels, sponsors of the Sable Island Offshore EnergyProject last week signed both their key commercial agreements andthe Facilities Alliance Agreement to engineer, construct andinstall production and gathering facilities to handle delivery of 3.5 Tcf of gas from offshore Nova Scotia. This formally commits theowners to the $2 billion first phase, which will deliver the firstgas in late 1999.