While the Southern California border stepped up its headlongrush to rejoin the overall gas market and the other two Californiapoints saw big losses, all other points experienced only mildsoftness Wednesday. Only Texas Eastern-Kosciusko and two Northeastpoints (into Algonquin and Iroquois Zone 2) fell more than a dimeamong the non-California markets.

The semi-blizzard in the Northeast, which proved unable tosustain price firmness beyond Monday, was moving out to sea fromNew England Wednesday, but it remains pretty cold in parts of theMidwest and Northeast, noted a marketer. “There’s no doubt that thestorm’s impact got overhyped, though,” he said. Algonquin citygatesand quotes for its upstream affiliate’s Texas Eastern M-3 pool wererunning higher than other Northeast points such as Transco Zone 6because although Algonquin had lifted secondary restrictions at itsSoutheast Compressor Station, forward-haul IT and AOR remained offlimits, he said.

The Destin shut-in situation was unclear. The pipeline’s bulletinboard said Wednesday a force majeure had been extended “due tocontinued problems in isolating and repairing the damaged portion ofthe NGL line” (see Daily GPI, March7). However, requests for an update from a spokesman for WilliamsField Services, which has a unit operating the leaking line, were notanswered. A Destin staffer said BP Amoco, operator of the Pascagoula(MS) Gas Plant that treats Destin gas, had indicated that leak repairscould be completed as early as Wednesday night. “We might be able toget some production flowing then, but must wait until BP Amoco givesus the word” that the plant has resumed processing.

With no field capacity constraints in effect, warming weatherlowering demand and easing concerns about SoCal Gas storage, theCalifornia border plunged more than $9.50.

AGA said 73 Bcf of “working gas” got taken from storage lastweek, which was toward the low end of expectations but stillincreased the year-on-year deficit. There were no screen fireworksthis time as the April contract moved from barely lower in themorning to mildly higher after the afternoon report.

Of special interest in the report, however, was a footnotesaying that another 4 Bcf in base gas was withdrawn in theProducing Region. That may have puzzled some traders with theperception that base gas is semi-sacred and not to be touched. Butthat’s not really so, according to Rusty Cates, vicepresident-marketing at Houston-based International Gas Consulting.There’s certainly precedent for such action, he said. Base gas hasbeen taken out in the Consuming Region East in the past, he said,specifying CNG [now Dominion] as one pipe that had used base duringsevere cold snaps.

“Base gas is the amount needed to maintain pressure needed fordesired deliverability levels through the last withdrawal ofworking gas,” and may be close to half of a reservoir’s totalvolume, Cates said. But in many cases an operator can continue towithdraw after exhausting working gas without causing damage to thereservoir, he added. Aquifer-type reservoirs are more susceptibleto damage risk from base gas cuts, Cates said, but salt domecaverns can take base gas out for short periods with little riskother than “creep,” which he defined as salt moving around in thecavern at certain depths and pressures.

Another source commented that “in past years we used to haverisk-aversive engineers who prevented any cuts in base gas. Now youhave bean-counters looking to maximize profits who are not soreluctant to use base.”

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