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Gold/Mining/Energy : Big Dog's Boom Boom Room -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: excardog who wrote (26467)	10/18/2003 1:13:45 PM
From: excardog	Respond to of 206085

UPDATE - Republicans see U.S. energy bill vote next week Friday October 17, 5:03 pm ET By Charles Abbott WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Republicans cleared major obstacles to an overhaul of U.S. energy policy on Friday except for $16 billion in tax incentives, and the bill could be called for a House vote as early as Tuesday, House leaders said. The wide-ranging energy bill would encourage construction of a natural gas pipeline from Alaska, modernize the U.S. electrical grid, double ethanol's share of the fuel market and foster development of alternative power sources, such as wind. Negotiators refused to discuss components of the bill until they could assure the tax breaks jibed with their policy language. But Republican Billy Tauzin, had of the House Energy Committee said, "On our side, we're basically booked." Republican tax writers were at odds over an ethanol tax exemption, however, and without an agreement, there would be no bill. Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle criticized Republicans as "intransigent" and saw little chance for a resolution soon. Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici agreed negotiations were "pretty much done" but would say no more. A Republican aide said the $16 billion tax package should be completed on Saturday. No details were immediately available about how Republicans resolved disputes among themselves over whether to ban gasoline additive MTBE, a suspected carcinogen and rival of ethanol; how to pay for expansion of the U.S. electricity grid; and how to structure subsidies to help build a $20 billion pipeline to ship Alaskan natural gas to the Lower 48 states. The three issues held up the bill for a month. Passage of a comprehensive energy bill would be a victory for President George W. Bush and for Republicans, who control the House and Senate by a few seats. Democrats failed to deliver an energy bill last year when they ran the Senate, and have been frozen out of this year's talks. Last summer's mammoth electric blackout, which cut power to 50 million people in the United States and Canada, put pressure on Congress to act speedily. "We're pretty close to being done," House Speaker Dennis Hastert told Reuters. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay told representatives to expect the energy bill as early as Tuesday. Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist took a direct hand this week in the month-old negotiations, telling committee leaders to finish a bill. Tauzin said "the last thing we decide" would be whether to allow oil drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge. Nor would he say if the final version would include a survey of oil and gas deposits in the outer continental shelf off the U.S. coast. Both are among the most contentious items in the bill. Daschle on Friday warned Democrats are not afraid to filibuster an unacceptable energy bill. He was among senators signing a letter a week ago calling for a federal ban of the gasoline additive MTBE, a clean-fuel rival of ethanol. Democrats have bitterly criticized the energy bill-writing process run by Republicans. Republican staffers have been writing the bill, which will be presented to all negotiating committee members for a vote as early as Monday. Another key issue in the tax package centers on structuring subsidies for an Alaskan natural gas pipeline. On Tuesday, Domenici said a tax credit to set a floor price of $3.25 per thousand cubic feet was dropped from the bill. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - News), a backer of the pipeline, said the credit was not dead. The credit "is still on the table despite what Domenici said, but I'd have to say it's at the edge of the table," Don Duncan, a ConocoPhillips lobbyist, told Reuters. "What you're going to end up with if this is not in the energy bill is a bill that does nothing to address (U.S. gas) supply," Duncan said. The tax package must address the issue of whether to continue exempting ethanol from 5.2 cents of the 18.4 cent a gallon federal fuel tax. A recurring complaint from critics is the loss of revenue for federal transportation projects. On Thursday, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Bill Thomas of California rejected a proposal by Senate Finance Committee chairman Charles Grassley to transfer money from the Treasury to the road fund equalling the amount that would have been collected at the full tax rate on ethanol, congressional sources said. Ethanol collections, which now go to the highway fund, would go to the Treasury instead. The change is worth some $2 billion to the road fund. (Additional reporting by Tom Doggett) (Editing by Eric Walsh; Reuters Messaging: chuck.abbott.reuters.com@reuters.net; +1 202 494 1278, e-mail: washington.commodsenergy.newsroom@news.reuters.com))

To: excardog who wrote (26467)	10/18/2003 3:27:25 PM
From: quehubo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 206085

One of the reasons I have been reluctant to try and trade more of my holdings during this shoulder season has been the pending pending bill. So far I have been watching for numerous indicators some of which have been positive and oher not: 1) Bullish. The direction of Private weather forecasts which as a whole seem to have been towards colder than normal, 2) Bullish. indications that Q3 production would be bullish when many were hoping for some sign of a production response, 3) Bullish. Further signs of economic recovery, 4) Not Bullish. No hurricanes hitting production in the GOM, 5)TBD still. An early start to HDD season. The forecasts all seem to continually indicate colder weather is 5-7 days away while delivering mild weather, 6) Bullish. Signs that E&P's will pick up activity in Q4. And the weather forecast today? Bullish. cpc.ncep.noaa.gov

To: excardog who wrote (26467)	10/18/2003 10:43:20 PM
From: Archie Meeties	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 206085

Here's some stuff I have from notes about the energy bill. All of this is dated, but some of it might come out in the final version. Utes. No tax on the sale of power lines until 2008. (I guess this is an incentive to build power lines??) Some breaks for those that convert dirty coal into clean coal. E&P: Royalty relief in both deep and shallow waters. Ability to write of the cost of exploration over 2 years instead of the life of the well (maybe this is what Palmers was stoked about?) Marginal wells get a tax credit of as much as $3 when the price of oil goes under $18. Extension of the $3 tax credit for coalbed methane. (nice idea that has run its course) Pipelines: Depreciate over 7 years, not 15. Refiners: A wierd provision to force refiners to add ethanol into gasoline. (Time to go long corn futures) I don't have a way to measure the sentiment around this bill. My sense was that most thought that the noncontroversial parts would pass easily, and this includes royalty relief, some changes in accounting for wells. If the market goes hog wild over all the pork, it would be a sign that there was significant doubt about even the noncontrovesial stuff passing. Overall, it seems the bill does more for gulf exploration than land exploration. Maybe the play would be on a gulf OS? In any case, I think the buying would be short term. Josh.