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FERC this week approved Cheniere Creole Trail Pipeline LP’s proposal to scale back its project significantly. It also gave an environmental nod to the pipeline’s proposal to build a small extension connecting its system with the 16-mile Cheniere Sabine Pass Pipeline on the Gulf Coast in Cameron Parish, LA..

Branching out into other markets while also beating its chief rival to the punch, the New York Mercantile Exchange said it was introducing six new soft commodity futures contracts on the Nymex ClearPort clearing and trading platform at 6 p.m. EST Wednesday for a Dec. 21 trade date. The exchange said it anticipates listing the contracts on Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s Globex electronic platform by the end of January 2007.

While seasonal spreads in natural gas prices have contracted, to be sure, it hasn’t hampered the business of at least one gas storage developer/operator, who also believes wider spreads will return, thanks in part to liquefied natural gas (LNG).

While seasonal spreads in natural gas prices have contracted, to be sure, it hasn’t hampered the business of at least one gas storage developer/operator, who also believes wider spreads will return, thanks in part to liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Columbia Gas Transmission has requested FERC authorization to sell pipeline and compression facilities in northern Pennsylvania to Somerset Gas Gathering of Pennsylvania LLC for an estimated $100,000. It also asked that the facilities be declared gathering that is exempt from FERC jurisdiction.

California regulators Thursday approved a sweeping set of rules for natural gas transmission and storage operations throughout the state, along with establishing a process for resolving the emerging issue of regulating gas quality and heating value from the expected influx of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports into the state.

With lowly Ernesto — now a tropical depression — sticking to a northern path and allowing the Gulf Coast to continue to quietly observe Hurricane Katrina’s one-year anniversary, October natural gas futures dug lower Wednesday, exploring price territory carved out Tuesday by the expiring September contract.

Florida Gas Transmission did not extend an Overage Alert Day beyond Tuesday. It also did not issue an Underage Alert Day on Wednesday, which it had warned market-area customers might be necessary because of the possibility that rains from Tropical Storm Ernesto might cause an underburn that day.

Joseph (Joe) N. Jaggers has been hired as COO and president of the Bill Barrett Corp. effective immediately, the company announced Monday. Jaggers had been COO and president at the predecessor Barrett Resources Corp. (also started by Bill Barrett) when it was sold to Williams in 2001. Most recently he was regional vice president for E&P for Williams. The 52-year old Jaggers has had a 25-year career managing oil and gas operations, with significant experience in both conventional and unconventional operations such as tight gas and coal bed methane. Fred Barrett, Chairman and CEO, commented, “We are excited to add Joe to our experienced management team. He has a long record of achieving production and reserve growth and has operational experience in many of the same Rockies basins in which we operate, including the Piceance, Powder River, Wind River, Uinta, and Rocky Mountain Overthrust.