Controversial

Capping a two-year battle for its controversial MarketLink project, designed to expand its system to deliver new supplies to the Northeast, Williams’ Transco pipeline has scaled back its ambitious schedule, filing to phase in construction through 2004.

A group of natural gas producers has called on FERC to step in and settle once and for all the controversial issue of re-designing the capacity-allocation procedures of El Paso Natural Gas so that “firm” capacity on El Paso would really come to mean firm, and the practice of overbooking firm primary transportation capacity would become history at the pipeline’s SoCal/Topock delivery point into California.

A group of natural gas producers has called on FERC to step inand settle once and for all the controversial issue of re-designingthe capacity-allocation procedures of El Paso Natural Gas so that”firm” capacity on El Paso would really come to mean firm, and thepractice of overbooking firm primary transportation capacity wouldbecome history at the pipeline’s SoCal/Topock delivery point intoCalifornia.

Just when you thought the news about the controversial contractarrangement between El Paso Natural Gas and its marketing affiliateEl Paso Merchant Energy Co. had died down, California regulatorscome out with a request from left field asking FERC to rescind the$38.5 million contract transaction for 1.22 Bcf/d of firm capacityon the pipeline.

The United States District Court for the District of Columbiahas struck down a controversial part of the Interior Department’s1997 royalty valuation rule for natural gas, which incorporatedmarketing costs in the valuation. (Civ. No. 98-00531)

A federal district court has struck down a controversial part ofthe Interior Department’s 1997 royalty valuation rule under whichroyalties were calculated on the market price of the gas even if itwas a delivered price downstream from the lease, the IndependentPetroleum Association of America said yesterday.

Putting the finishing touches on a controversial asset sell-offplan, MCN Energy Group Inc. announced last week the sale of itsAppalachian natural gas exploration and production (E&P) andrelated pipeline properties for a total of $180 million.

Putting the finishing touches on a controversial asset sell-offplan, MCN Energy Group Inc. announced last week the sale of itsAppalachian natural gas exploration and production (E&P) andrelated pipeline properties for a total of about $180 million.

Critics of the controversial multi-state gas pipeline project— Independence Pipeline and the associated SupplyLink andMarketLink expansions — insist FERC treated the projects with kidgloves in its interim order last month, while the project sponsorsargue the Commission held their projects to unprecedented higherstandards that may be impossible to meet.