Annual

El Paso said a shutdown of the Blanco (NM) Plant starting June 5represents the largest annual outage on its system, impacting about15% of normal total throughput. There will be zero flow throughBlanco for about four hours on June 5. Thereafter the IMOITRKA (BRValverde) point can flow at its normal rate, but the net reductionof San Juan Basin capacity for the day will be 600 MMcf/d. Duringthe June 5-9 period maintenance on Blanco’s C and D plants will cutSan Juan capacity by 500 MMcf/d. A June 5-14 outage of the Gallup(NM) Station essentially will have no additional impact whileBlanco is down, but will result in a 250 MMcf/d San Juan cutbackJune 10-14. Combined pipeline and compressor maintenance betweenthe Leupp and Flagstaff Stations in Arizona will reduce NorthMainline capacity by 500 MMcf/d June 5, 400 MMcf/d June 6 and 210MMcf/d June 7. See the El Paso bulletin board for details of othermaintenance planned during June.

NGPL will perform annual maintenance Tuesday through Friday on aunit at Compressor Station 167 (Lea County, NM), reducing areacapacity by about 21,000 MMBtu/d. Depending on nomination levels,only a limited amount of ITS/AOR service may be scheduled for gasreceived in the Permian Zone’s Segments 7, 8 or 9 and deliveredoutside the Permian Zone. The pipeline has scheduled a constructionshutdown of its Old Ocean Lateral for April 27-29. Eight points inBrazoria County, TX, and one in Matagorda County, TX, must takenominations to zero during the outage.

Despite notching new annual volume records for the fifthconsecutive year since NGI started ranking gas marketers, the paceof volume growth in the gas and power marketing businesses hasshown some signs of decline.

A PHB Hagler Bailley annual survey found that many topexecutives in the gas and electric industry expect to become moreinvolved in e-commerce and telecommunications over the next fiveyears. The results of the survey, called PHB Hagler Bailley EnergyIndustry Outlook 2000, were released last week at the NationalPress Club in Washington, D.C.

A PHB Hagler Bailley annual survey found that many topexecutives in the gas and electric industry expect to become moreinvolved in e-commerce and telecommunications over the next fiveyears. The results of the survey, called PHB Hagler Bailley EnergyIndustry Outlook 2000, were released yesterday at the NationalPress Club in Washington, D.C.

If there were any market bears at the 55th annual meeting of theInterstate Natural Gas Association of America, they must have beenscared into the closet by Curt Launer, vice president of theresearch department at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, and TomasA. Petrie, CEO of Petrie Parkman. Petrie sees $30/bbl oil and$3/Mcf or higher natural gas in the near future.

The Energy Information Administration released its Annual EnergyReview this week chronicling 50 years of changes in the U.S. energyindustry. Fifty years ago the nation was nearly self-sufficient inpetroleum and was a net exporter of natural gas, the report notes.Now, on the eve of the new century, America imports more than half ofits petroleum and 15% of its natural gas. Gas supply and demand werein relative balance in the U.S. until the mid-1980s when aproduction-consumption gap developed. In 1998, U.S. production was 19Tcf, consumption was 21 Tcf and imports were 3 Tcf. While the numberof wells producing gas in the U.S. grew 263% over the 50 years, theaverage output per well fell by 55%. The report is available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/ on EIA’s web site.Printed copes will be available later this month from the U.S.Government Printing Office, (202) 512-1800, or through EIA’s NationalEnergy Information Center, (202) 586-8800.

At an annual meeting yesterday, Avista Corp. CEO T.M. Matthewsunveiled a new strategy that will include the purchase of 10% ofAvista’s common stock and will defer any major acquisitions soAvista can concentrate on the company’s existing energy business.

Williams yesterday said it is holding an open season throughJune 1 for annual firm service to be created by Transco’s SundanceExpansion Project. The expansion is intended to serve growing powergeneration, residential and commercial gas markets in thesoutheastern United States and is proposed to be in service byApril 2002. Sundance would expand the Transco system from Station65 in Louisiana to Station 165 in Virginia.