Daily GPI

The April Nymex contract took a 5.1 cent hit to $2.241 onTuesday, as speculators continued to sell positions following thespot month’s inability to break above the $2.355 resistance levelon Monday, a source told GPI. Total volume was estimated at 41,490contracts.

The Alliance Pipeline project’s in-service date is expected tobe delayed by about one year, Alliance Pipeline President and CEODennis Cornelson announced yesterday. The massive Canadian gaspipeline project designed to bring 2.3 Bcf/d of supply to theChicago hub from supply basins in British Columbia and Albertalikely won’t start flowing gas until late in 2000 rather than inNovember 1999 because of continued regulatory delays in Canada. Theproject has come under a hail of protests from competitors inongoing hearings in front of Canada’s National Energy Board.

Texas Utilities Co. Tuesday acquired 72,560,178 Energy GroupShares at 840 pence/share, representing about 13.9% of The EnergyGroup’s issued share capital. The 840 pence/share offer was thelatest in the bidding war between TXU and PacifiCorp for theBritish Utility.

Like a grizzly bear accidentally stepping on a porcupine, VikingVoyageur seems to have tread on a Wisconsin landowner whose husbandhappens to be a Noble Prize winning economist with a dislike ofpipeline infrastructure. In testimony filed at FERC on behalf ofhis wife Katherine D. Miller, Merton H. Miller, McCormickDistinguished Service Professor of Finance, Emeritus, of theGraduate School of Business, University of Chicago, warned theCommission if its goal in approving new pipelines is to benefitconsumers then it should toss the Voyageur project.

Marking the start of construction related to projects thatultimately will increase pipeline capacity into New England by morethan 20%, Portland Natural Gas Transmission System (PNGTS) andMaritimes & Northeast Pipeline began a crossing of thePiscataqua River between Newington, NH, and Eliot, ME. The crossingis the first stage in the construction of the PNGTS/Maritimes JointFacilities Project, which represents the southernmost portion ofeach pipeline.

Union Pacific Resources Group (UPR) closed on its acquisition ofNorcen Energy Resources. The companies’ boards approved the dealJan. 26. UPR initiated a tender offer for the 51.5% of Norcen’s stock not owned or controlled by Noranda Inc., a shareholder of49.5% Norcen common stock.

The Independent Petroleum Association (IPAA) has filed a lawsuitagainst the Department of the Interior, claiming that through a newnatural gas royalty regulation DOI’s Minerals Management Service iscollecting a larger share of royalties than it is entitled to.

Cash prices came out of the chute fast Monday morning as coldertemperatures, strong NYMEX prices and a bit of hype tricked mostmarkets into early gains. “A buyer blinked early this morning andsellers took control,” a Tulsa marketer said. The early strengthpushed prices to 5-8 cents above index levels in some cases.However, after the market caught its breath, sellers came out ofthe woodwork to send prices lower and late trades were back nearindex levels. Western prices followed the East’s early lead butresisted the major downturn.

The April Nymex contract fell 2.9 cents to $2.292 on Monday,following the spot month’s failed attempt to clear a majorresistance level. “April was in a two hurdle race today, but ittripped on the second hurdle,” a trader told GPI. “On the one hand,April was able to break out of the symmetrical triangle formationby moving above $2.34. However, April immediately fell back once itfilled in the chart gap at $2.355. There were quite a few standingsell orders at that price, so it’s no wonder the contract fellback,” he said.