Working gas levels in storage at the end of the winter heatingseason have been revised by the Energy Information Administration(EIA) after a report from ANR Pipeline that 47 Bcf of working gasin its Michigan storage facilities was reclassified as base gas.The change means working gas levels at the end of the winterheating season were 3% lower than first reported by the EIA, or1,430 Bcf compared to 1,477 Bcf.

The revised level still was 245 Bcf more than at the same time ayear earlier and still was the highest level of working gas at theend of any heating season in the past seven years. In March 1992,there was 1,545 Bcf of working gas in storage. The record level wasachieved in 1983 when 2,148 Bcf of total working gas was in storageat the end of March.

ANR Pipeline confirmed last week that it was responsible for thechange. In its last rate case, ANR requested that 62.1 Bcf ofworking gas in its Michigan storage fields be reclassified as basegas, but following that five fields containing reclassified gas (15Bcf) were abandoned or no longer used for storage: Coldwater,Croton, North Hamilton, Norwich and Orient.

“For accounting purposes it was effective [January] 1997, but interms of operationally reporting it to EIA, we just got around toit April 1 of this year,” said ANR spokesman Joe Martucci.

One other storage change that’s likely to occur in Michigan andaffect EIA’s statistics this summer is the introduction of theWashington 10 storage field in Macomb County. The new field, whichis owned and operated by MCN, started injecting gas in April andhas 41.6 Bcf of working gas capacity and 400 MMcf/d ofdeliverability.

Rocco Canonica

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