Sabine Pipe Line Co., Great Lakes Gas Transmission and Centerpoint Energy-MRT topped the charts in customer satisfaction among a total of 42 interstate pipeline companies in a survey by Mastio & Co. Meanwhile, Trailblazer Pipeline and El Paso Natural Gas Co. fell to the bottom of the ranking, and Centerpoint Energy Gas Transmission showed the sharpest fall in the ranking since last year’s survey.

The rankings are based on interviews with industrials, local distribution companies, independent power producers, oil and gas producers and marketers. Each respondent rated the pipelines on 33 customer satisfaction attributes including integrity, accuracy of invoices and statements, problem resolution, and other issues. The top three customer needs out of 27 listed in this survey were the following: firm gas transportation is highly reliable; integrity; and accuracy of invoices and statements.

Mastio noted that needs in this survey are “notably different than last year’s results. This difference is reflective of the changing needs of the customer and the marketplace.

“Numerous pipelines have changed hands as major industry players’ sale assets to help strengthen weak balance sheets. The companies that purchase these pipelines must not forget the importance of the customer throughout all of this change. Many of the people within these pipelines have spent years cultivating valuable relationships.”

Out of the mega-pipeline group, which includes 16 companies with at least 1,000 miles of pipe and deliveries of more than 1 Tcf/year, Great Lakes Gas Transmission, Southern Natural Gas and CMS Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Co. topped the customer satisfaction ranking. The pipelines experiencing the greatest improvement from 2001 to 2002 were CMS Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line, Texas Eastern Transmission and Kinder Morgan Interstate Transmission.

The top three long-haul pipelines, which have at least 1,000 miles of pipeline and serve three or more states, out of 34 that compose the index were Great Lakes Gas Transmission, CenterPoint Energy-MRT and Southern Natural Gas. The bottom two companies in the long-haul index were BC Pipeline and El Paso Natural Gas Co. The companies experiencing the greatest improvement from 2001 to 2002 were BC Pipeline, Alliance Pipeline Ltd. and CMS Panhandle Pipe Line. The long-haul pipeline experiencing the greatest decrease was CenterPoint Energy Gas Transmission.

The top three short-haul pipelines out of the 27 that have less than 1,000 miles of pipe and serve fewer than three states were Sabine Pipe Line Co., Acadian Gas Pipeline System and Iroquois Gas Transmission System. The bottom two were Trailblazer Pipeline and TXU Lone Star Pipeline. The companies experiencing the greatest improvement from 2001 to 2002 were Enogex, Sabine Pipe Line and Equitrans. The short-haul pipeline experiencing the greatest decrease was Kinder Morgan Texas Pipeline.

The top three intrastate pipelines out of nine were Acadian Gas Pipeline System, Louisiana Intrastate Gas Corp. and Enogex, Inc. The bottom two companies in the intrastate index were Transok Pipeline and TXU Lone Star Pipeline. The companies experiencing the greatest improvement from 2001 to 2002 were Enogex, Oasis Pipeline Co. Texas LP and Oneok Gas Transportation Co. The intrastate pipeline experiencing the greatest decrease was Kinder Morgan Texas Pipeline.

The top three Canadian pipelines of the 10 that compose the index were Union Gas Ltd., Transgas Ltd. and TransCanada Pipelines-Alberta System. The bottom two companies were TransCanada Pipelines-B.C. System and BC Pipeline.

For more information, contact Mastio & Company at (816) 364-6200 or info@mastio.com

©Copyright 2003 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.