NGI The Weekly Gas Market Report

A triple hunting license — to increase delivery capacity, cast for customers and accelerate drilling — has been granted to the leaders of the next growth planned for natural gas production offshore of Nova Scotia, Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline (M&NP) and EnCana Corp.

Former Shell Co. financial executive Nick J. Caruso, who once worked with Dynegy Inc.’s new CEO, was appointed CFO and executive vice president of the Houston company last week in a move that analysts see as a positive.

Questar Corp. said last week that it has completed the sale of its interest in the TransColorado Pipeline to a Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) affiliate after the Federal Trade Commission took no action on the companies’ filing under the federal Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.

Duke Energy’s new president and COO, Fred Fowler, wasted no time in beginning a structural reorganization of Duke management to help the company weather the industry’s financial and credit crisis and restore investor confidence (see Daily GPI, Nov. 26). Harvey Padewer, former group president of Energy Services, and Jim Donnell, former president and CEO of Duke Energy North America (DENA), both resigned last week.

The National Energy Board (NEB) will be gathering information from key gas industry players in the Maritimes region over the next few months in preparation for two public reports on the functioning of the Atlantic Canadian gas market. The board also plans to publishing data gathered for the reports on a monthly basis from gas export license holders. It will collect data on domestic and export prices through surveys and publish the results in an aggregate format.

El Paso Energy Partners LP. (EPN) said last week that it has completed its $782 million acquisition of the San Juan Basin assets from El Paso Corp. EPN first announced the deal, which includes a 5,500-mile gathering system connected to 9,600 gas wells in northwestern New Mexico, in May (see NGI, June 3).

In much-watched oral arguments before FERC last Monday, California representatives decried El Paso Corp.’s attempts to “mightily” turn the high-profile complaint alleging market manipulation on the part of the company’s affiliates into a case involving pipeline safety.

Indicative of industry-wide trends in the same direction, Rosemead, CA-based Edison International’s senior executives told financial analysts Tuesday that the energy holding company is staking its future on restoring its traditional utility operations to full financial health.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. revealed that it was the mystery buyer late last month of $300 million in Midcontinent gas reserves from Oneok Inc. subsidiary Oneok Resources (see NGI, Dec. 2). Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake said the purchase included 200 Bcfe of proved gas reserves, 60 Bcfe of probable and possible gas reserves and current gas production of 47,000 Mcfe/d. The company added that it expects the transaction to close on Jan. 31, 2003.