NGI The Weekly Gas Market Report

The sponsors of Independence Pipeline and Millennium Pipelineprojects contend CNG Transmission Corp. is speaking with a forkedtongue when it comes to assessing the future need for new pipelinecapacity to the Northeast market.

Thunder Creek Gas Services LLC, a joint venture of KN Energy andDevon Energy, has completed construction on a major new gatheringtrunkline designed to meet the expanding production in Wyoming’sPowder River Basin, which is being touted as the “most active”coal-bed methane play in the nation.

A group of Wisconsin landowners is seeking to join ANR Pipeline in its fight against Wisconsin Gas and its Guardian Pipeline project.

Slightly more than one year after Midwest power prices spiked to$7,500/MWh from $25/MWh, causing suppliers to default on contracts,companies to go out of business and federal regulators to concludeit was a one-time anomaly, the power market did it again.

For those seeking to sell energy in a competitive environment,it’s a happy coincidence widespread consumer use of the Internethas come about at the same time deregulation of gas and powerunfolds. Several Internet sites have been established to simplifyshopping for consumers and reduce the cost to marketers of reachingsales prospects.

Although no panic buttons have been pushed yet, the Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT) is getting increasingly worried about the recent lack of activity on its gas futures contract. There has been no estimated volume since July 29, and as a result, open interest has been stuck at 669 positions.

There appears to have been a minor shake-up at the Natural GasSupply Association (NGSA) last week. It came during Skip Horvath’sfirst week as president of the producer group that’s still reelingfrom the effects of an embezzlement scandal uncovered earlier inthe year.

MCN Energy Group continued singing the blues to investors lastweek with an announcement that it canceled its Michigan E&Passet sale and took a huge financial loss during the secondquarter. But company officials promised to turn things around witha new executive leadership team and a narrower,vertically-integrated business strategy.

Oneok Inc. of Tulsa, OK, last week filed to hold Southern Union in contempt for violating an injunction preventing it from attempting to influence a shareholder vote on the merger of Oneok and Southwest Gas Corp.