Element

Williams and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP are partnering on a pipeline project to carry mixed (y-grade) natural gas liquids (NGL) from the Marcellus and Utica shales to the U.S. Gulf Coast as well as the petrochemical market in the Northeast.

The day before the Pittsburgh City Council voted to prohibit natural gas drilling there (see Shale Daily, Nov. 17), commissioners in South Fayette Township, on Pittsburgh’s southwestern edge, voted to ban drilling in conservation areas and all residential zones, including suburban communities and rural farmland.

As Canadian imports decline and liquid natural gas (LNG) becomes a key element in U.S. supply, demand fluctuations in other parts of the world will have more of an effect on prices in the United States than ever before. Storage limitations in Korea, a Japanese nuclear reactor being knocked off line by an earthquake or other overseas events can have major impacts on prices in the United States, a ConocoPhillips executive said.

As Canadian imports decline and LNG becomes a key element in U.S. domestic supply, demand fluctuations in other parts of the world will have more of an effect on prices in the U.S. than ever before. Storage limitations in Korea, a Japanese nuclear reactor being knocked off line by an earthquake or other overseas events can have major impacts on prices in the U.S., a ConocoPhillips executive said.

Seeking to flesh out a key element of an order issued by FERC earlier this month, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) last week asked the federal agency to clarify that the order was not intended to require CAISO to change the existing Commission-approved “hard” cap on adjustment bids to a “soft” cap.

With a 555 kW natural gas cogeneration system as its central element, Chevron Energy Solutions Friday declared an energy efficiency success story at one of San Diego Community College District’s campuses, Miramar College, claiming 30% energy reductions and $200,000 annual fuel bill savings. The net cost of the energy services contract was $4.5 million after the college received a $555,000 rebate from the state.

Immediately after getting over one hurdle, Exelon Corp. now finds itself standing in front of another in its quest to purchase Dynegy’s Illinois Power (IP) unit. First announced in late September (see NGI, Sept. 29), the $2.225 billion deal has been under constant fire from the Illinois government as well as consumer groups.

El Paso Corp. said Friday it had completed a key element of its balance sheet “enhancement”, agreeing to sell $750 million of common stock at a net price of $42.50 per share through an underwritten public offering with J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. The sale price is a 5.6% discount to El Paso’s $45 closing stock price on Thursday (Dec. 20), with the underwriter retaining a 15% over-allotment option.

FERC is refusing to budge on several key points included in a market monitoring and mitigation plan for California’s sagging energy markets that was unveiled in April. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission re-emphasized its belief that it is important for the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) to ensure the presence of a creditworthy buyer for all transactions made with any generator that offers power in compliance with the rules set forth in the mitigation plan.