NGI The Weekly Gas Market Report

A new study released by the American Gas Association indicates that gas reserve levels remained flat or dropped slightly last year compared to the 183.5 Tcf recorded in 2001. Reserves rose in six out of the last eight years.

The House of Representatives on Friday passed by a wide margin broad-based energy legislation, which one House Republican leader called “the most important energy bill in the last 50 years.” But a dispirited Democratic lawmaker said it was a Republican-crafted bill that was “jammed down the throats” of others in Congress.

It’s been a long time coming, but former merchant energy giants like Aquila Inc., CMS Energy Corp., Reliant Resources Inc., Dynegy Inc. and Xcel Energy appear to be stabilizing as they improve their liquidity and pay down debt, according to two reports by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P).

Rather than pre-judge how the Commission would implement legislation working its way through the House of Representatives directing FERC to boost natural gas price transparency, FERC Chairman Pat Wood last Wednesday said his inclination would be to instead hold an open workshop to get feedback on this and several other energy-related issues should the bill be signed into law.

Duke Energy said Friday it is discontinuing proprietary trading at its North American merchant energy businesses, Duke Energy North America (DENA) and Duke Energy Merchants, to focus on more profitable businesses.

Continuing on with its 2003 exploration and production strategy despite a few recent company speed-bumps, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. announced a natural gas discovery at its Jubilee prospect in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. The Atwater Valley 349 No. 1 well is the first well drilled in Anadarko’s Eastern Gulf of Mexico exploration program.

In a proposal that the author concedes could be made moot by federal regulatory action this summer, the California state Senate’s energy committee Tuesday passed to another standing committee a proposal to set new limits and criteria for energy price indices used by state regulators in setting rates for qualifying facility (QF) power producers and others.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) last Wednesday said that he is hopeful that electricity titles included in comprehensive energy bills pending in the House of Representatives and the Senate can be successfully reconciled when conferees from the two chambers meet to iron out differences between the two sweeping legislative proposals.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week voted out a rule updating its requirements for regulated companies to record and report liabilities and other costs associated with the retirement or decommissioning of plant assets.