Curtailments

FERC should require Rockies Express Pipeline Co. LLC (REX) to adopt a no-profit reservation charge crediting methodology for curtailments during force majeure events, a group of shippers said in a filing Monday.

Despite dry gas production curtailments and rig lay-downs nationwide, Northeast production will grow by 1 Bcf/d from its current 8.3 Bcf/d by the end of the year as the Marcellus Shale “seems impervious to the unfavorable economics,” Bentek Energy LLC said in its Forward Curve Quarterly.

Severe weather conditions early this month caused a double whammy for the two interstate natural gas pipelines serving the Southwest, and the result was curtailments by some of the distribution utilities, particularly in New Mexico, representatives from Transwestern and El Paso Natural Gas pipeline units told a U.S. Senate energy committee informational hearing Monday in Albuquerque, NM.

After enduring major supply shortfalls late last week that resulted in service curtailments for some downstream customers, El Paso did a complete turnabout during the weekend. It declared a change to normal pack condition Saturday morning and then said the situation had graduated to a high pack condition late that afternoon, where it remained Monday. El Paso was suspending all Park services and imbalance paybacks to the pipe until further notice. Maximum withdrawals from Washington Ranch storage field last week had changed into maximum injections by late Saturday night. El Paso appealed for assistance from “any customer [who] can voluntarily take more gas or reduce some supply for a period of time.” A force majeure and emergency Critical Operating Condition implemented during the cold weather last week had been canceled Saturday and were not replaced by any similar actions related to the new high-linepack situation.

Affiliates Southern California Gas and San Diego Gas and Electric lifted Friday transmission curtailments for all interruptible and a number of firm noncore customers in southeast California’s Riverside, Imperial and San Diego counties.

While the major gas distributors in the state of New York are close to meeting their Nov. 1 storage inventory targets despite hurricane curtailments, the New York State Public Service Commission (NY PSC) said last Thursday it was concerned about the preparedness and reliability of one smaller investor-owned utility, Corning Natural Gas Corp. The commission took the “extraordinary actions” of calling on other gas companies in the state to provide supply to Corning on a mutual-aid assistance basis, and ordered Corning to show cause why a temporary operator should not be appointed to manage the utility.

While the major gas distributors in the state of New York are close to meeting their Nov. 1 storage inventory targets despite hurricane curtailments, the New York State Public Service Commission (NY PSC) Thursday said it was concerned about the preparedness and reliability of one smaller investor-owned utility, Corning Natural Gas Corp. The commission took the “extraordinary actions” of calling on other gas companies in the state to provide supply to Corning on a mutual-aid assistance basis, and ordered Corning to show cause why a temporary operator should not be appointed for the utility.

There’s no question that natural gas prices will be higher this winter due to post-hurricane supply curtailments in the Gulf of Mexico. But FERC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “are committed to ensuring that prices don’t go higher still because of manipulation,” FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher said last Wednesday as the two agencies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) pledging to work together to limit abuses in the gas market.

There’s no question that natural gas prices will be higher this winter due to post-hurricane supply curtailments in the Gulf of Mexico. But FERC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “are committed to ensuring that prices don’t go higher still because of manipulation,” FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher said Wednesday as the two agencies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) pledging to work together to limit abuses in the gas market.