Woods

Layne Christensen Co., based in Mission Woods, KS, said Thursday that it has reached an agreement with Presco, Inc. under which the two companies would team with Mission Gas Partners LLC to develop a large coalbed methane gas project in Osage County, OK.

While the trading community continued to stew over what virtually everyone agreed was an outlandishly low AGA storage injection figure, it sent cash prices diving Friday. Declines tended to be between about 15 and 35 cents, with those in the 20s most common. Many points were giving up nearly all the price territory they had gained the day before.

Bears continued to roam the gas price woods Tuesday in nearly all markets. Overly warm and power-short California was the major exception where prices for deliveries at the PG&E Citygate and at the Southern Border into PG&E were up sharply.

The California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) still intends to press FERC for a finding of affiliate abuse and tariff violations in the El Paso Natural Gas pipeline case, said CPUC Attorney Harvey Morris (see NGI, March 5), despite El Paso Merchant Energy’s decision to turnback on May 31 most of the 1.2 Bcf/d of firm space it has held on its affiliated pipeline system.

Although the sale of its customers to Shell Energy Services wasfinalized last week, Peachtree Natural Gas is not clear of problemsyet. The Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC) told NGI it isinvestigating slamming charges against the embattled marketer. GPSCCommissioner Bobby Baker said a slamming investigation is currentlyunder way and that anywhere from several hundred to severalthousand gas customers could be affected. There is no timeframe forthe conclusion of the investigation.

Although the Federal Trade Commission approved the sale of itscustomers to Shell Energy Services last week, Peachtree Natural Gasis not clear of problems yet, as the Georgia Public ServiceCommission (GPSC) is investigating slamming charges against theembattled marketer. GPSC Commissioner Bobby Baker said yesterday aslamming investigation is currently under way and that anywherefrom several hundred to several thousand gas customers could beaffected. There is no timeframe for the conclusion of theinvestigation.

“Other than a 15-cent crash, it’s a fairly quiet market.” That’sthe only comment a Sumas trader had to offer Tuesday other than acouple of price quotes. It appeared the cash market may have onlybeen teasing producers with Monday’s moderate firming afterdouble-digit decreases dominated on Tuesday. Some sources pointedat futures as a source of cash weakness, but most said it was morethe continuing lack of positive fundamental influences that causedmost points to approximately double the screen’s fall of just over9 cents.

Bears roamed the gas trading woods in full force Thursday,sending cash prices down by a dime or much more at nearly allpoints. The biggest declines of about 35-45 cents occurred at thepreviously high-flying Transco Zone 6 and Texas Eastern M-3citygates in the Northeast. Although some Zone 6-New York Citydeals were still being quoted above $3, the average there fell intothe mid $2.80s.

It looks like bears are roaming the market woods for the holidayseason, said a producer noting new softness in both futures andcash prices Friday. No nay-sayers to her assessment could be foundas sources agreed that weather and storage fundamentals continue tolook weak for the foreseeable future, barring a surprise blizzardor two. A marketer said he “wouldn’t be surprised if we end up withDecember indexes looking a lot like November’s.”