Conduct

Ozark Gas Transmission LLC, an Affiliate of Atlas Pipeline Mid-Continent LLC, will conduct a nonbinding open season for its proposed East End Expansion Project beginning March 6 and ending on March 31. The extension proposal calls for 100 miles of 24-inch pipe originating in White County AR, near the city of Searcy and terminating in Panola County, MS ,near the city of Sardis.

Enbridge Inc. announced Wednesday it will conduct a nonbinding open season for a proposed 330-mile long, 36-inch diameter natural gas transmission pipeline that would be designed to transport up to 1 Bcf/d of natural gas from Southeast Texas to Clarke County, MS.

As natural gas prices continue to maintain their lofty levels, industries that use the commodity as a feedstock are finding it increasingly more difficult to conduct business as usual. As one of the largest energy users in Ohio, steel producers in the state said Thursday that they have grave concerns over natural gas prices, which have increased 400% in five years. In the most recent price run-up, the steel companies say that natural gas costs per ton of steel produced have tripled.

The Senate last week approved an amendment as part of the broader energy bill that calls for the federal government to conduct a study of the controversial open-rack vaporization (ORV) system for liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals.

Questar Corp. said two of its subsidiaries have reached agreements with the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation allowing the company to conduct gas exploration and production (E&P) on tribal lands in the Uinta Basin of northeastern Utah and to construct gas gathering and processing infrastructure to serve the area.

Shell Canada Ltd. plans to conduct a 3-D survey this summer of the Orphan Basin, located in the deepwater offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, after acquiring a 20% interest in eight exploration licenses. The interest was acquired under a farm-in agreement with ExxonMobil Canada and Imperial Oil Resources.

Atlantic-based IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) said late Wednesday that it plans to conduct an initial public offering of its common stock. It plans to file a registration statement with Securities and Exchange Commission in the next several weeks. ICE operates an online exchange for trading natural gas, crude oil and power futures and over-the-counter energy products. ICE conducts its markets for futures trading through its subsidiary, London-based International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), Europe’s leading energy futures and options exchange. ICE also announced its 2004 financial results on Wednesday, reporting revenues of $108.4 million and consolidated net income of $22 million. Consolidated cash flow from operations was $40.3 million. Capital expenditures and capitalized software in 2004 totaled $6.5 million. For 2004, volume traded on ICE’s futures subsidiary, the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), reached 35.5 million contracts. Electronically traded IPE Brent volume increased from 2.8% of total contract volume in January 2004 to 27.2% of total contract volume in December 2004. For more information, go to www.theinterchange.com.

FERC’s proposed regulations governing the conduct of open seasons on an Alaska natural gas pipeline flout the directive of Congress because they favor the three dominant producers in the state — BP, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, contend competing producers.

FERC’s proposed regulations governing the conduct of open seasons on an Alaska natural gas pipeline flout the directive of Congress because they favor the three dominant producers in the state — BP, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, contend competing producers.