Energy

In what traders called a purely screen-driven cash market,prices achieved double-digit increases at virtually every pointexcept for PG&E citygates, which rose by a little less than adime.

El Paso Energy’s Southern Natural Gas pipeline last week filedan application at FERC seeking to expand its South Main system byabout 336 MMcf/d to serve utility power plants in North Carolinaand other southeastern markets.

Alberta Energy Co. Ltd. became more U.S. than Canadian producerlast week by grabbing a major foothold in the Rocky Mountainregion. The company is buying all the common shares of McMurry Oil,which owns 1.2 Tcf of gas reserves and significant explorationacreage in the Jonah Field in the Green River Basin in southwesternWyoming. It also is purchasing the 245-mile Jonah Field gasgathering system, which currently transports 320 MMcf/d of gas andis primed for an expansion to 440 MMcf/d. The transactions arevalued at a total of C$1.15 billion.

El Paso Energy’s Southern Natural Gas pipeline has filed anapplication at FERC seeking to expand its South Main system byabout 336 MMcf/d to serve utility power plants in North Carolinaand other southeastern markets.

Alberta Energy Co. Ltd. became more U.S. than Canadian produceryesterday by grabbing a major foothold in the Rocky Mountainregion. The company is buying all the common shares of McMurry Oil,which owns 1.2 Tcf of gas reserves and significant explorationacreage in the Jonah Field in the Green River Basin in southwesternWyoming. It also is purchasing the 245-mile Jonah Field gasgathering system, which currently transports 320 MMcf/d of gas andis primed for an expansion to 440 MMcf/d. The transactions werevalued at a total of C$1.15 billion.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week endorsed acustomer-friendly interconnction plan by Commonwealth Edison,calling it “another critical step” toward getting new merchantpower plants on the transmission grid.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this week took “anothercritical step” toward providing new power generators with more”certainty and assurance” in their efforts to interconnect with thetransmission grid.

Mitchell Energy & Development Corp. said it will expandprocessing capacity at its Bridgeport, TX, plant northwest of FortWorth from 210 to 310 MMcf/d. The expansion will handle rapidlyrising gas supplies from accelerated drilling by the company andother producers. Daily rich gas volumes delivered to Bridgeport areexpected to increase from 205 MMcf to almost 300 MMcf during thenext three years. Likewise, gas liquids production from the plantwould increase from 19,000 b/d to more than 27,000 b/d.

AES Corp.’s energy service arm, NewEnergy, said yesterday it hasreceived its business license as an alternative supplier ofelectricity from the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN).The company will be able to sell electricity to Nevada consumers assoon as the market is opened to competition.