CMS Gas Transmission and Storage Co., the new pipeline division of the Michigan utility, continued to grow last week as its subsidiary CMS Continental Natural Gas purchased Anson Gas Marketing and the Midcontinent Gas Pipeline from Chesapeake Energy Marketing. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Anson Gas Marketing purchases natural gas for resale primarily in Oklahoma. A CMS official estimated Anson marketed 20 Bcf last year. The assets of Midcontinent Gas Pipeline consist of six small gas gathering systems, which had a total throughput of 2 Bcf for 1998. This transaction also includes a commitment by Chesapeake Operating of certain volumes of gas to CMS Continental.

“As far as the Anson Marketing and Midcontinent Pipeline purchases go, the moves help bolster our Midcontinent midstream presence,” said CMS spokesman Kelly Farr. “By improving that area of our operations, we move significantly closer to our overall aim of connecting the Michigan market with the major producing regions of the country.” The company’s largest pipeline, CMS Panhandle Eastern draws Midcontinent gas out of Oklahoma.

This is CMS Continental’s first move since March when it forged a partnership agreement between Pennaco Energy Inc. and CMS Oil and Gas Co. to gather gas from the partnership’s Powder River Basin project (see NGI, April 5).

Its parent company also has been busy. Besides the dealings of CMS Continental, CMS Gas Transmission has been heavily involved in the planning and open season of the Guardian Pipeline, a proposed interstate pipeline intended to serve northern Illinois and southern. The open season took place last month and Farr said an announcement will be made in the next couple of weeks regarding the results.

Farr also said CMS Gas Transmission is working to get a re-hearing with FERC concerning the status of the TriState Pipeline, a 650 MMcf/d proposed gas pipeline that would extend to the Dawn Hub in Ontario from Joliet, IL, near Chicago. In late May, FERC told CMS and its partner Westcoast Energy, that the proposed route for TriState had serious flaws and needed to be redesigned (see NGI, May 31). “We think FERC misread our proposal. Hopefully we can get a re-hearing scheduled soon so that this bump can be worked out.”

John Norris

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