Accord

Unless an accord was reached over the weekend, the initial multi-district litigation (MDL) trial centering on the Macondo well explosion in April 2010 is scheduled to begin Monday in New Orleans. Sources said late last week the defendants were attempting to come to terms with lawyers representing thousands of plaintiffs.

BP plc is discussing a $14 billion accord with plaintiffs who sued the company and its partners over the Macondo well explosion, sources told NGI on Monday.

Wyoming’s accord to ensure a viable habitat for the greater sage grouse — and ensure continued oil and natural gas development — may prevent the bird from being listed in the state under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), officials said.

Wyoming’s accord to ensure a viable habitat for the greater sage grouse — and ensure continued oil and natural gas development — may prevent the bird from being listed in the state under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), officials said.

With the ink barely dry on the contract accord, El Paso Natural Gas stunned everyone last week when it announced that it and Enron North America Corp. were parting ways. El Paso said the companies had reached a “mutual agreement” to annul their $38 million negotiated arrangement under which the marketer had agreed to acquire 1.2 Bcf/d of westbound firm capacity on the pipeline. (See NGI, Jan. 31).

FERC staff has recommended that the full Commission approve anaccord under which El Paso Natural Gas has agreed to pay SouthernCalifornia Edison $32 million and make certain rate concessions topreserve its 1996 capacity-turnback settlement.

El Paso Natural Gas has asked FERC to overturn a July ALJinitial decision that found it failed to “seriously confront thepotential impact of…turned-back capacity on the remainingcustomers on its system and take adequate steps to remarket thecapacity” when it first learned that Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) planned to step down its capacity commitment effective January1996. If upheld by the Commission, El Paso would be required toshoulder the costs for half of the 300 MMcf/d of capacity that theLDC turned back.