Sabine Pipe Line said Sunday that the force majeure at all receipt and delivery points continues to remain in effect as the company assesses Hurricane Rita damage.

The company said personnel accessed various facilities in the proximity of the Sabine Henry Hub. Two separate natural gas releases were located and secured, neither of which was sourced from Sabine Pipe Line LLC facilities. Sabine Pipe Line said that appropriate representatives for the responsible facilities were notified. Sabine will issue further updates as conditions necessitate.

The company also reported that there have been media reports that “authorities responded Saturday to a rupture at Henry Hub.” Sabine said it has been unable to verify or confirm any rupture or release at this time. Sabine is working with local emergency response personnel to make definitive assessments of its Henry Hub facility.

The Sabine Pass Pipe Line force majeure was issued Thursday due to the uncertainty of the current projected path of Rita. Sabine’s Henry Hub facility is located in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. Parish officials are reporting that 80% of Vermilion Parish is under water.

Parish official-conducted flyovers of various locations Saturday reported that there was an apparent breech of facilities in the vicinity of Sabine’s Henry Hub. Sabine communications are frozen as result of power outages. Last readings prior to communication, however gave no indication of pressure loss on Sabine facilities. Sabine is in the process of attempting to access its facilities and conduct onsite assessments.

As a result of the Sabine news, the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) said Monday that its prior declaration of force majeure relating to all remaining delivery obligations in the September 2005 Nymex Division natural gas futures contract will continue. On Friday, the exchange made a finding of force majeure for the September natural gas futures contract effective as of the Sept. 22 declaration by the Sabine Pipe Line in Louisiana. Accordingly, any further action by the exchange will be undertaken in accordance with Nymex rule 220.18, in particular rule 220.18 section (C)(6).

“All parties have available now, as always, the ability to mutually agree to execute an alternative delivery procedure pursuant to Nymex rule 220.17(A) for the September 2005 delivery obligations,” Nymex said. “Furthermore, if necessary the exchange will consider any appropriate decisions and actions pursuant to the rules regarding any upcoming obligations in the October 2005 natural gas futures contract as conditions at the Henry Hub are evaluated.”

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