Abandonment

The market might not want Tres Palacios Gas Storage LLC’s (TPGS) extra Gulf Coast cavern capacity, but the company can’t abandon it either, FERC said on Thursday.

What’s good for Tres Palacios Gas Storage LLC (TPGS) is good for the market, the company told FERC in a motion filed last Tuesday in its ongoing bid to abandon a portion of its Gulf Coast capacity that has become uneconomic.

In a skirmish between a power generator looking to cover its intermittent service needs and a natural gas pipeline company attempting to switch some underutilized pipe to liquids service, American Electric Power Service Corp. (AEP) has told FERC it has “serious concerns” about a Texas Gas Transmission proposal to abandon portions of its Eunice, LA-to-Hardinsburg, KY, pipeline.

Tennessee lifted a systemwide Imbalance Warning Saturday. The pipeline also rescheduled a line abandonment project for the 523M-7300 and 523M-7600 lines offshore Louisiana to Wednesday through Oct. 4. The work, which will require suspension of flows at four Vermilion meters, previously was set for last Saturday through Oct. 2.

As part of its 823X-1300 Line abandonment project, Tennessee will suspend physical flow from Monday through Sept. 22 at the Vermilion 51 and McIlhenney RIP 823X 1351 meters. Additionally, Tennessee said, this project will result in the inability to flow north from the Bluewater Pipeline, and in the event of a “liquid upset” all meters on Bluewater may be required to shut in. The work was moved up from previously scheduled dates of Sept. 1-31.

On the heels of the NorthernStar Natural Gas bankruptcy filing and abandonment of its FERC-permitted Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in northwest Oregon, the Palomar Gas Transmission LLC pipeline, which had a potential connection with Bradwood, has filed a notice with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to withdraw its application to build the pipeline to serve the Pacific Northwest.

On the heels of the NorthernStar Natural Gas bankruptcy filing and abandonment of its FERC-permitted Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in northwest Oregon, the Palomar Gas Transmission LLC pipeline, which had a potential connection with Bradwood, has filed a notice with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to withdraw its application to build the pipeline to serve the Pacific Northwest.

Apache Corp. said the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement approved a permit to enable the company to resume plugging and abandonment operations at East Cameron Block 278 Platform B in the Gulf of Mexico. Operations were suspended when a leak was discovered about Sunday morning by an Apache crew, which saw bubbling near the platform. Air monitoring equipment found no traces of gas emissions on the facility, and power had been restored to assure safe operations, the company said Thursday. The depleted gas field is in water depths of 168 feet about 95 miles south of Cameron, LA.

Apache Corp. said the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement approved a permit to enable the company to resume plugging and abandonment operations at East Cameron Block 278 Platform B in the Gulf of Mexico. Operations were suspended when a leak was discovered Sunday morning by an Apache crew, which saw bubbling near the platform (see Daily GPI, Jan. 20). Air monitoring equipment found no traces of gas emissions on the facility and power had been restored to assure safe operations, the company said Thursday. The depleted gas field is in water depths of 168 feet about 95 miles south of Cameron, LA. Apache acquired East Cameron 278 in 2003. The development of the wells and installation of the platform occurred in the 1990s by prior owner-operators. Apache holds a 50% working interest, with Stone Energy holding the remaining working interest.