Effective Wednesday Northwest will reduce available capacity at the Boise (ID) Compressor Station from 499,000 Dth/d to 425,000 Dth/d due to damage sustained by Unit #2 this past weekend. Emergency repairs are under way and the unit is expected to be placed back in service Friday, Northwest said.
Damage
Articles from Damage
Futures Rise Again Following Thursday’s Drubbing
Marginalizing the bearish damage done on Thursday, traders — after bouncing off of support just below $11.500 in the overnight session — pushed natural gas futures 22.9 cents higher on Friday to close at $11.703. The week, which saw June futures expire at $11.916 on Wednesday, also saw the July contract close 27.8 cents lower than the previous Friday’s finish.
Transportation Notes
Northwest reduced available capacity at Sumas from 1,313,000 Dth/d to 800,000 Dth/d due to engine damage discovered during routine inspections on Units 7 and 8 at the Sumas Compressor Station. Current net southbound nominations through Sumas are approximately 692,000 Dth/d, Northwest said. Emergency repairs are under way and Unit 7 is expected to be in service as early as Tuesday, while Unit 8 is expected to return to service March 16, it added. Available capacity will increase to 1,000,000 Dth/d when unit 7 is placed back in service, and the station design capacity of 1,313,000 Dth/d will be restored when both units are available for service. If primary nominations exceed 800,000 Dth/d prior to Unit 7 returning to service, Northwest said it will declare a deficiency period and cut nominations accordingly. “If customers require additional supply, Northwest suggests that they source gas from Alberta or Rockies interconnections,” the pipeline said.
Industry Brief
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has agreed to mitigate damage to about three acres of wetlands that were impacted and pay a $157,500 civil penalty for the destruction of wetlands near the Hams Fork River in Lincoln County, WY, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, found that during construction of two natural gas well pads and associated access roads and connecting pipelines, Anadarko subsidiaries Westport Oil and Gas Co. and Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore LP acted without a permit and placed material into the wetlands, which “adversely altered their functions and values.” The federal Clean Water Act prohibits these types of discharges unless they have been authorized by a Corps permit. As compensatory mitigation for the violations, Anadarko will be required to physically restore 0.85 acres of impacted wetlands and create an additional 4.18 acres of wetlands. Mike Risner, EPA Region 8 Legal Enforcement director, said the environmental impacts cited “could have been avoided if the company had consulted with the Corps prior to commencing its activities.”
Transportation Notes
Southern Natural Gas said it had completed damage assessments on the 26-inch diameter line leading away from the Gate 6 supply aggregation platform offshore southeast Louisiana where a rupture occurred early Friday on one of the two companion 20-inch diameter lines (see Daily GPI, Aug. 8). It allowed flows to resume Tuesday at 12 receipt points behind the platform (see the bulletin board for list). Those points were flowing approximately 300,000 Dth/d prior to the force majeure event, Southern said, “and our plans are to schedule 150,000 Dth/d at these points effectively immediately and then ramp up to the pre-force majeure event volumes over the next [three to five] days or as conditions will allow.” Southern said it also is evaluating an interim solution that will allow additional flows from the Main Pass area. Besides encouraging shippers affected by the force majeure to fully use their storage withdrawal rights, Southern listed Petal Storage-Enterprise, Elba, Tennessee-Rose Hill, Tennessee-Toca, Tennessee-Pugh and Destin-Enterprise as alternate supply sources.
WVA Judge Upholds Damage Award in Royalty Case
NiSource Inc. has lost an attempt to overturn a $270 million punitive damage award that tops off $134 million in compensatory damages for underpayment of royalties in West Virginia, but the company vows it will fight on. A Roane County, WV judge last Thursday ruled against a motion to set aside the punitive damages portion of the jury verdict that was issued early this year (see NGI, Feb 5).
WVA Judge Upholds Damage Award in Royalty Case
NiSource Inc. has lost an attempt to overturn a $270 million punitive damage award that tops off $134 million in compensatory damages for underpayment of royalties in West Virginia, but the company vows it will fight on. A Roane County, WV judge Thursday ruled against a motion to set aside the punitive damages portion of the jury verdict that was issued in January (see Daily GPI, Jan. 30).
Futures Descend Again; Sideways Chop Still in Effect
Traders continued to damage the recent bullish case on Tuesday as June natural gas futures dropped an additional 14.2 cents to close at $7.637, bringing the week’s losses to date to 30.1 cents.
IECA Says Emissions Cap Will Take Toll on Gas Prices
Absent an existing and future supply of affordable low carbon-intensive energy, such as natural gas, carbon emission caps would significantly damage the domestic economy and manufacturing competitiveness, said top energy and environmental experts from 31 manufacturing companies in a report issued Monday.
Transportation Notes
Southern Natural Gas said third-party damage caused an unscheduled outage on the 18-inch diameter South Pass Line offshore southeast Louisiana. Because of the outage, Southern is unable to accept nominations at the Main Pass 61A, Main Pass 61B and Main Pass 61B Buy Back points until further notice. In an update Monday, the pipeline said it is still developing a repair plan and the anticipated return to service date is unknown at this time.