Completing

Sea Robin reported completing an investigation of a leak in its “J” leg segment (see Daily GPI, May 16). The “J” leg is being returned to service after the leak was isolated on the lateral serving Eugene Island Block 305 (receipt location 94027), Sea Robin said. It resumed taking nominations for Thursday’s gas day at all affected points except for location 94027.

Houston-based independent KCS Energy Inc. is slowly emergingfrom bankruptcy, completing the necessary steps to reorganize,announcing it has signed a production agreement with Enron NorthAmerica Corp. to sell about 17.3% of its oil and gas reserves overthe next five years for $176 million. KCS held nearly 277 Bcfe ofreserves in 2000.

After completing its merger with The Coastal Corp., El PasoEnergy Corp. announced that it has completed restructuring andterminated 1,650 employees from the combined company’s approximate16,500 employee work force. Of the employees let go, 585 willremain with the company until their current assignment iscompleted, but none later than June 30. El Paso also announced thatadditional employees left voluntarily, and 1,635 workers opted forthe early retirement package. Employees that were not retained areeligible for full severance benefits, including a cash paymentbased on term of service. El Paso said that staff reductions tookplace everywhere the company does business. High employeeconcentration areas such as Colorado Springs, Detroit, El Paso andHouston were hardest hit by the cutbacks. Reductions ocurred in allbusiness units at all levels of the company, El Paso said.

Duke Energy Field Services (DEFS) finished off 2000 with a bangby completing three year-end asset transactions. First, the companyfinalized the $91 million sale of natural gas liquid (NGL) pipelineassets to TEPPCO Crude Pipeline, L.P., then it completed thepurchase of certain natural gas pipeline assets from El Paso FieldServices in two separate deals for an undisclosed sum.

Southern Energy Inc. took a giant leap into the Mid-Atlanticpower market yesterday by completing the purchase of 5,154 MW ofpower generation from Potomac Electric Power Company (Pepco) for anet price of $2.65 billion.

Vector Pipeline began operations Friday, completing pipelineconstruction and the start of transportation service on a newnatural gas pipeline system. The 285-mile 42-inch pipeline connectsto 59 miles of existing 36-inch pipe leased line in Michigan, andcrosses 1,900 tracts of land in the United States and Canada.

California regulators have appealed to the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission for help in completing the state’sinvestigation of prices paid in the state’s wholesale electricitymarket this past summer.

BP, touting its leadership role as a responsible energy company,said last week it is completing plans to decrease its Houston areaNOx emissions through the construction of new cogenerationfacilities at its Texas City and Chocolate Bayou refining andchemical sites.

After successfully completing a non-binding open season on Sept.21, for the Western Frontier project, Williams’ gas pipeline unitplans to hold a binding open season in the near future to gauge theexact market interest in the project that would transport gassupply from the Rockies to the mid-continent region.