Become

With winter setting in for the long haul, two indicators havebecome a constant. Natural gas prices continue to stay pegged inthe upper echelon, and fertilizer producing companies continue toscale back their natural gas-intensive process of producing itemssuch as ammonia and methanol.

Joining in the feeding frenzy that has become California’selectricity rate debate, a San Diego-based utility consumer groupand four law firms last week filed a class action lawsuit against13 major generators, marketers and energy trading companies,charging them with price fixing and market manipulation.

Joining in the feeding frenzy that has become California’selectricity rate debate, a San Diego-based utility consumer groupand four law firms last week filed (Nov. 29) in Superior Court inSan Diego a class action lawsuit against 13 major generators,marketers and energy trading companies, the veritable “who’s who”of the state’s electricity market.

The Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana has become one ofthe fastest growing gas production areas in the nation, maybe eventhe world, but that could change if agricultural interests andenvironmentalists succeed in blocking the issuance of waterdischarge permits by the Wyoming Department of EnvironmentalQuality (DEQ).

Kinder Morgan Texas Pipeline (KMTP) has clinched a deal to become the primary natural gas transporter for Calpine in the Texas Gulf Coast and Ship Channel markets under a 10-year, natural gas transportation and storage agreement. The deal gives Calpine access to up to 375,000 MMBtu/d of firm natural gas transportation service for a decade beginning Jan. 1, 2001.

Kinder Morgan Texas Pipeline (KMTP) has clinched a deal tobecome the primary natural gas transporter for Calpine in the TexasGulf Coast and Ship Channel markets under a 10-year, natural gastransportation and storage agreement. The deal gives Calpine accessto up to 375,000 MMBtu/d of firm natural gas transportation servicefor a decade beginning Jan. 1, 2001.

The transmission market has become one of the most politicized issues of the day, and while the United States needs more generation, there remains no clear vision of how to make the entire system work more efficiently, according to experts speaking at PowerMart 2000 in Houston last week.

The transmission market has become one of the most politicizedissues of the day, and while the United States needs moregeneration, there remains no clear vision of how to make the entiresystem work more efficiently, according to panelists who spoke atPowerMart 2000 in Houston yesterday.

Chevron, the Royal Dutch/Shell Group and Schlumberger havebecome equal partners in a new Houston-based company, OpenSpiritCorp., which will offer a standardized software infrastructure forthe energy industry. The initial framework was funded by OpenSpiritAlliance, a three-year-old collaboration of exploration andproduction companies and software vendors that studies ways tobetter develop, deliver and use E&P applications. OpenSpiritCorp.’s vendor-neutral and platform-independent applicationframework is expected to be available before the end of the year.Neil Buckley, former president of U.S. operations for Merak, adivision of GeoQuest, will serve as CEO. More information isavailable at www.openspirit.com.