Delays

Regulatory delays may kill the long-delayed Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP), TransCanada Corp. CEO Hal Kvisle said Wednesday.

After a series of delays Equitrans LP Tuesday asked FERC for the green light to place in service its Big Sandy Pipeline, which was built to ease the capacity constraints that have plagued producers in the eastern part of Kentucky over the years.

Regulatory delays have forced Dominion and Equitable Resources Inc. to terminate their agreement for the purchase of the Dominion Peoples and Dominion Hope natural gas distribution companies by Equitable, the companies said last week.

Regulatory delays have forced Dominion and Equitable Resources Inc. to terminate their agreement for the purchase of the Dominion Peoples and Dominion Hope natural gas distribution companies by Equitable, the companies said Tuesday.

Northern Natural Gas, operator of the Matagorda Offshore Pipeline System (MOPS), said construction delays have changed its tentative schedule for restoring service on MOPS following a June 12 shutdown (see Daily GPI, July 20). Nine platforms are now scheduled to be reactivated during the gas days of Friday and Saturday for pressure testing of the system and bringing the mainline back to normal operating pressure. A pig launching from the Mustang 758 platform is set for Monday of next week to clear accumulated liquids. Nominations will be accepted for Monday’s gas day for the nine platforms that were activated to facilitate the pigging activity. The pig is expected to be received at the Tivoli (TX) Plant on or before Aug. 3, where the plant is expected to take a minimum of three days to process the liquids. All platform production will be shut in during the liquids processing. Once they have been processed, the MOPS system will return to normal operations. Currently that is expected to happen Aug. 7, Northern Natural said.

Due to delays in construction activities at the Sublette (KS) Compressor Station, Northern Natural Gas will allocate the PEPL/NNG Sublette South interconnect with Panhandle Eastern to zero Friday. A return to normal operation is expected Saturday.

Despite more delays in a final joint local/federal environmental impact report (EIR) for the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in Long Beach, CA, harbor, the port city’s local government is still talking regularly to the project sponsors about an eventual supply contract and pipeline between the receiving terminal and the city municipal utility operations, according to the city energy manager. A final EIR originally was scheduled for release this month.

Despite more delays in a final joint local/federal environmental impact report (EIR) for the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in the harbor of Long Beach, CA, the port city’s local government is still talking regularly to the project sponsors about an eventual supply contract and pipeline between the receiving terminal and the city municipal utility operations, according to the city energy manager. A final EIR originally was scheduled for release this month.

Citing welding delays in repairing a Saturday rupture west of Cheyenne Station (see Daily GPI, Nov. 14), Wyoming Interstate Co. said it was required to maintain a curtailment of mainline capacity through its Laramie East constraint point to zero through at least Wednesday. Flow through the Medicine Bow Lateral was not impacted, WIC said. “At this time, WIC anticipates that it will be able to accept nominations…Wednesday for its full Wyoming mainline capacity” in the Timely cycle for Thursday’s gas day, the pipeline said.