Abandons

In another negative report regarding Atlantic Canadian gas exploration, EnCana Corp. said its Weymouth A-45 deepwater exploration well offshore Nova Scotia was unsuccessful and is being abandoned. The company has had a series of setbacks in the Atlantic since putting its shallow water Deep Panuke project on hold last year.

Chevron Canada Resources, a Canadian subsidiary of ChevronTexaco Corp., announced Tuesday that it has abandoned the Chevron et al Newburn H-23 exploratory well off the coast of Nova Scotia, but “we’re not packing our bags and leaving.”

Westcoast Energy dealt the 650 MMcf/d TriState Pipeline project a potentially fatal blow last week by exiting the project partnership, which now includes only CMS Energy, and signing on with TriState’s main competitor, the 1 Bcf/d Vector Pipeline. Westcoast dropped its 33% stake in TriState and purchased a 30% equity stake in Vector from project operator Enbridge Inc. It also committed to take 240 MMcf/d of firm capacity in the $500 million Vector project.

Consolidated Natural Gas (CNG) blamed thin margins for its exitfrom wholesale marketing and trading to focus on retail. The shiftin strategy comes on the heels of the March announcement CNG willtake a $20 to $25 million loss in Energy Services to close outelectricity positions. The move could herald the beginning of amarketer shakeout, noted one analyst.