Chestnut Ridge Storage LLC has launched a nonbinding open season for up to 25 Bcf of new natural gas storage capacity at the proposed Junction Natural Gas Storage Facility being developed in southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. Chestnut Ridge is owned by affiliates of Omaha, NE-based Tenaska Power Fund LP (TPF) and Houston’s eCORP LLC. Junction is being converted from a depleted gas reservoir into a multi-cycle, high-deliverability storage facility with 500,000 Dth/d of injection and withdrawal capability. Its target in-service date is 1Q2009. The open season will close at 5 p.m. CDT on Oct. 10. For more information or to obtain a bid package, contact Mark Stauss at (713) -520-0993 or mstauss@ecorpusa.com. Information also is available at www.JCTStorage.com.

The attorney general for New Hampshire released a report on petroleum markets that examines the gasoline and heating oil markets in his state and Massachusetts, Maine, New York and Vermont. The 330-page report also includes information on the difficulties and high costs of converting from a heating oil system to a natural gas system. The report, prepared by ERS Group, provides an overview of market conditions specific to the region that may affect petroleum prices. “This report provides the best information we have available on this important topic,” New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte said. “We undertook this study so that we would have a better understanding of how the market for these necessary commodities operates. In the past we have assumed that price fluctuations have been due to everything from seasonal usage changes to natural disasters such as the hurricanes of 2005. The report is available at www.doj.nh.gov/consumer.

Cheniere Energy Inc. said one of its subsidiaries has entered into a short-term time charter agreement on the Galeomma, a 126,000 cubic-meter liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel, from Shell Western LNG BV. The time charter is currently expected to commence in the fourth quarter. The vessel is expected to be utilized primarily for Cheniere to import LNG into the United States, and Cheniere anticipates making the vessel available for Sabine Pass LNG LP, its approximately 92% owned subsidiary, to commission its LNG receiving terminal currently being constructed. “Sabine Pass LNG LP is scheduled to commence commissioning its LNG receiving terminal during February 2008 and the Galeomma will be available to support such activities,” said Jean Abiteboul, executive director of Cheniere LNG International. “With the chartering of this vessel and the expected delivery to its affiliate, J&S Cheniere SA, of two additional vessels currently scheduled for December 2007 and March 2008, a total of three vessels will be available for the respective LNG transportation activities of Cheniere and J&S Cheniere.”

ANR Pipeline Co., ANR Storage Company and Great Lakes Gas Transmission LP (GLGT) announced the commencement of a nonbinding open season for up to 35 Bcf of firm storage service and associated firm storage-related transportation services utilizing new and/or existing storage and pipeline facilities. The STEP 2010 open season began last Thursday and will close at 2 p.m. CDT on Nov. 7. The project will provide storage service for gas sourced off of the GLGT, TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. (TCPL) and ANR systems, including prospective interconnects along ANR’s Southeast Mainline with Rockies Express at ANR/Shelbyville and with multiple pipelines sourcing expanding Fayetteville and Barnett Shale production. The project will be capable of delivering storage volumes to markets off of the ANR and GLGT systems as well as into TCPL for redelivery to TCPL’s Canadian Mainline markets in Ontario and the U.S. Northeast gateways. The indicative price for the 70 day ratcheted firm storage service is $1.50/Dth with a minimum term of five years. The targeted in-service date is April 1, 2010. TCPL will soon be initiating its own nonbinding open season process for capacity connecting services on ANR, Great Lakes and Canadian Mainline systems. Together, the two coordinated open seasons will enable the companies to fully assess the interest level for storage service and storage-related transportation service from existing and developing supply basins to proposed Michigan storage assets and from those storage assets to the market base they serve in the United States and Canada. Information and details related to the STEP 2010 Storage Expansion Project and open season are available on the ANR website at www.anrpl.com/Open_Seasons and on the GLGT website at www.glgt.com/step_2010.

NSTAR Gas has submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities a winter rate of $0.9799/therm, an 18% decrease from last year’s rate of $1.1949/therm, the company said last week. If the new price is approved it will go into effect on Nov. 1. The average NSTAR Gas heating customer, using 144 therms of gas per month between November and April, can expect a drop of $27 per month, NSTAR said. Non heating customers using natural gas for cooking and hot water will see a drop a $3 per month drop, to $36 from $39 last year. NSTAR has also filed a $0.9999/therm price for its fixed price option, which allows customers to lock in their natural gas rates for the entire season in order to maintain a predictable monthly bill. NSTAR makes no profit on the program. In May, NSTAR announced that summer electric rates for residential customers would drop 8% compared to 2006 prices. Last month NSTAR announced that fourth quarter electricity rates for more than 1,000 large commercial and industrial customers would drop 17%, a decrease attributed to a drop-off in prices for oil and natural gas.

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