The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Wednesday held a pre-bidding conference with four natural gas suppliers regarding long-term supplies of up to 120 MMcf/d, some of which could be transported through the still idled western portion of Questar’s Southern Trails pipeline in California, a LADWP official said during an interview with NGI.

Southern Trails is a converted oil-to-gas pipeline from the San Juan Basin in New Mexico to the California border. LADWP also is discussing supply alternatives with Southern California Gas Co., El Paso Corp., and a branch of Black Hills Corp. LADWP is seeking gas supplies with terms between 15 and 30 years. Bids are due by Nov. 30.

The municipal utility also is considering purchasing 50-60 MMcf/d of its own southwestern gas production and associated reserves. The reserves search is being conducted through a coalition with the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), in which LADWP is a member. SCPPA hired Denver-based Petrie Parkman & Co. as a consultant. The goal is to find five or six properties scattered around the West. SCPPA “A”-credit rating will be used to finance up to $100 million in purchases.

“We’ll probably be doing multiple properties to spread our risk and get some diversity in the supply,” said Bill Carnahan, SCPPA executive director. “It will take at least four or five deals to get up to the volumes the folks need for their generation resources (in the greater Los Angeles basin and three outlying areas).”

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