Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., a subsidiary of El Paso Corp., said Tuesday that it has accepted the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) certificate authorizing construction of the Dracut Expansion project. The $35 million project will replace approximately 12 miles of existing 16-inch natural gas pipeline with a 24-inch line from Dracut to Burlington, MA, primarily using existing rights-of-way. The project will increase takeaway capacity from the Dracut interconnect by 200,000 Dth/d. Once the project is in service, the total takeaway capacity from Dracut will be more than 600,000 Dth/d. Tennessee said it expects the Dracut Expansion to be available for commercial service in the fall of this year. “The Dracut Expansion represents the next logical step in expansions from Dracut to serve the Northeast energy corridor,” said Stephen C. Beasley, Tennessee president. “Tennessee initiated the growth by completing the Eastern Express 2000 project in January 2000 and placed the Londonderry pipeline in service in September 2001. Tennessee is pleased to provide additional, reliable service by substantially increasing our capacity from Dracut with this expansion. The use of existing corridors allows Tennessee to minimize the environmental impact while delivering an economic project.”

Consumers Energy customers would see a slight dip in natural gas prices next winter under a plan the utility has filed for review by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC). The utility’s gas price plan calls for it to charge up to 35 cents per hundred cubic feet (ccf) of gas from April 1, 2002 through March 31, 2003. The price for the current gas fiscal year — April 1, 2001 through March 31, 2002 — will average about 38.5 cents per ccf. “Natural gas prices hit record highs last winter in the national marketplace, then started to edge down,” Consumers CEO Carl L. English said in a statement. “The economic slowdown, higher production and moderate weather have brought the supply and demand equation back toward a better balance for customers for this winter and next winter.” A typical Consumers Energy residential customer uses about 122 Mcf of gas each year. Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy, is Michigan’s largest utility, providing natural gas and electricity to more than six million of the state’s nearly 10 million residents.

Baker Hughes announced that its international rig count for December 2001 was up 11 from November to 752 and up 47 from the 705 counted in December 2000. However, the U.S. rig count was down 99 from November and down 196 from December 2000. The Canadian rig count for December 2001 was 264, down 2 from the 266 counted in November 2001 and down 146 from the 410 counted in December 2000. The total North American rig count was down 101 from November and down 342 from December 2000.

Dallas-based Powder River Basin Gas Corp. has completed two wells on its Zullig County lease in Wyoming. An additional 11 well sites have been spudded and drilled to 10% of their estimated depth to secure 40-acre spacing. CEO Greg Smith said the completions represent the initial phase of a drilling plan for a total of 192 well sites on its 14,000 acre lease block. Preliminary production tests indicate the two wells each produced approximately 700 Mcf/d and have completed their dewatering phase. The wells cost approximately $70,000 to drill and complete, and Powder River expects to continue to develop the first drilling package within the next month. Thirty wells are expected to be completed by August 2002.

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