Assessments

FERC Friday issued favorable environmental reviews for two natural gas storage facilities in New York and Ohio, which would add a combined 7 Bcf of capacity. Environmental assessments (EA) were awarded to Arlington Storage Co., LLC for its Thomas Corners storage project in Steuben County, NY, and to Columbia Gas Transmission’s Ohio storage expansion at its Crawford and Weaver fields.

The workload for the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wyoming offices is growing by the day — as are its coffers — with natural gas producers requesting environmental assessments to ramp up drilling projects across the state.

The workload for the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wyoming offices is growing by the day — as are its coffers — with natural gas producers requesting environmental assessments on a variety of proposed drilling projects.

Southern Natural Gas said it had completed damage assessments on the 26-inch diameter line leading away from the Gate 6 supply aggregation platform offshore southeast Louisiana where a rupture occurred early Friday on one of the two companion 20-inch diameter lines (see Daily GPI, Aug. 8). It allowed flows to resume Tuesday at 12 receipt points behind the platform (see the bulletin board for list). Those points were flowing approximately 300,000 Dth/d prior to the force majeure event, Southern said, “and our plans are to schedule 150,000 Dth/d at these points effectively immediately and then ramp up to the pre-force majeure event volumes over the next [three to five] days or as conditions will allow.” Southern said it also is evaluating an interim solution that will allow additional flows from the Main Pass area. Besides encouraging shippers affected by the force majeure to fully use their storage withdrawal rights, Southern listed Petal Storage-Enterprise, Elba, Tennessee-Rose Hill, Tennessee-Toca, Tennessee-Pugh and Destin-Enterprise as alternate supply sources.

With preliminary damage assessments from Hurricane Dennis showing minimal impact to Gulf of Mexico production facilities, August natural gas futures traded lower in Sunday night’s overnight Access trading session. However, after opening Monday all of the way down at $7.36, traders realized they may have overreacted a bit.

Preliminary damage assessments from Hurricane Ivan continued to grow on Tuesday, while it also became apparent that some shut-in Gulf of Mexico production could remain off the market for an extended period.

All natural gas pipeline operators must begin baseline integrity assessments of the sections of their pipeline systems located in high-consequence areas by no later than June 17, according to a Washington, DC-based law firm that specializes in energy law.

All natural gas pipeline operators are required to begin baseline integrity assessments of the sections of their pipeline systems located in high-consequence areas by no later than June 17, according to a Washington, DC-based law firm that specializes in energy law.

While current Canadian natural gas prices have dropped, officials who take a longer view described the nation’s natural gas sector as poised for lasting growth, after weathering a spell of turbulence this summer. Natural Resources Canada, in an annual review of the continental gas market, projected further growth of 25% in exports to the United States to 4.4 Tcf per year by 2010.