Expand

Attempting to reach energy consumers on both coasts, SouthernCalifornia Gas Co. said Thursday it hopes to offer its Internetmarketplace to customers in New York, Massachusetts, Illinois,Pennsylvania, and Georgia in the very near future. The expansionwas announced as part of the formal launching of power trading onthe company’s energy market web site, www.energymarketplace.com.

Alberta Energy Company (AEC) announced plans to expand thestorage capacity managed by its AECO-C storage hub in Alberta by 10Bcf through a conversion of a depleted field at Peace River Arch innorthwestern Alberta to a commercial storage facility. Thedevelopment will add 100 MMcf/d of injection and withdrawalcapability and has the potential for a further expansion, AEC said.

Texas Eastern Transmission (Tetco) announced plans to expand itsMain Pass system in the Gulf of Mexico and lease the new expansioncapacity to Dauphin Island Gathering Partners (DIGP). The projectwill provide Tetco customers with access new supply sources andwould give DIGP additional capacity it needs to serve itscustomers, said Tetco President Bobby Evans.

Petal Gas Storage Co. (Petal), a subsidiary of Louisiana-basedCrystal Oil Co., plans to expand its high-deliverability saltcavern storage facility near Hattiesburg, MS. The proposedexpansion would include leaching an additional salt cavern with astorage capacity of 5 Bcf of which 3 Bcf would be working gas. Thenew cavern, combined with the existing 5.2 Bcf cavern (3.2 Bcfworking gas) would have a withdrawal capacity of 600 MMcf/d.

South Jersey Gas received approval from the New Jersey Board ofPublic Utilities to expand its residential transportation programallowing 12,500 more customers to select an independent natural gasmarketer. “Last year, 13,000 customers tested the uncharted watersof deregulation by signing up with an independent marketer,” saidCharles Biscieglia, president of South Jersey. “Finding ways tohelp our customers reduce energy costs is important to us andanything we can do to create a potential for savings is a positivestep.” Enrollment for the expanded program closes July 31, 1999.South Jersey serves 260,000 residential, commercial and industrialcustomers in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Salem, and significantportions of Camden, Gloucester and Burlington counties.

Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) announced it willoffer a choice of other natural gas suppliers to an additional300,000 customers this summer, pending approval by the New JerseyBoard of Public Utilities (BPU). Less than one year ago, thecompany introduced the pilot, offering a choice of suppliers toabout 65,000 PSE&G residential customers in four New Jerseymunicipalities, Bloomfield, Piscataway, Pennsauken and Westampton.

Coastal’s ANR Pipeline is seeking FERC approval to implement twonew interruptible services and expand service options availableunder its firm storage service tariff. The proposed new servicesare called interruptible parking and lending service, andinterruptible wheeling service. “We are offering these new servicesin response to requests by our customers, who have indicated a needfor more product choices and flexibility due to the dynamic natureof today’s natural gas marketplace,” said Jeffrey A. Connelly, ANRCEO. “The revisions we are proposing to our firm storage servicewill provide ANR’s shippers with an array of additional serviceflexibility in managing their supply portfolios.”

Laclede Gas Co. and Williams agreed to provide additional gasservice into the St. Louis area through a project that will expandthe Williams Gas Pipelines Central service area eastward fromKansas City to the St. Louis area. The project involves conversionof an existing 200-mile Williams petroleum pipeline to gas service.Williams also will install new compression, pipeline and deliveryfacilities. The project is fully subscribed, and firm service isexpected to begin in the fourth quarter.

Enogex Interstate Transmission has filed an application withFERC to integrate and expand the recently purchased assets of OzarkGas Transmission, an interstate pipeline, and NOARK, an intrastate,into a new 749-mile Midcontinent interstate pipeline system. Theproject is designed to give NOARK customers greatly needed accessto new gas supplies, while providing Ozark shippers access todesperately needed new markets. Enogex, an interstate pipelinesubsidiary of Oklahoma City-based OGE Energy, recently purchasedOzark from NGC Corp. for more than $55 million and bought amajority interest in the NOARK Pipeline from Prudential Insuranceand a SEMCO Energy subsidiary for $30 million.