Expands

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a final rule Wednesday that seeks to expand the ability of releasing shippers to recall pipeline capacity from replacement shippers.

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) has issued on final rule on new procedures for obtaining royalty relief for certain offshore federal deepwater leases. It will allow some lease operators to apply for additional discretionary relief where royalty relief in the lease term is insufficient and the marginal nature of the project will preclude its further development.

UBS Warburg, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based UBS AG, beat out Citigroup as high bidder for Enron Corp.’s once mighty wholesale energy trading unit, according to an announcement Friday by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New York, which also ruled against moving the case to Houston. No details of the bid were released. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez has scheduled a hearing at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday (Jan. 17) to consider final approval for the transaction.

Williams said it completed a $45 million gathering and processing system upgrade in Wamsutter, WY. The project included the addition of a third cryogenic gas processing unit at the Echo Springs natural gas plant, boosting capacity by about 140 MMcf/d to 390 MMcf/d and liquids extraction from 18,000 b/d to 28,000 b/d. Williams also expanded the pipeline gathering system that brings natural gas into the plant for processing. Capacity on the system was increased from 330 MMcf/d to roughly 400 MMcf/d.

Snyder, TX-based Patterson-UTI Energy Inc., the second-largest operator of land-based oil and natural gas drilling rigs in North America, said Wednesday that it has acquired 17 land-based drilling rigs from Cleere Drilling Co. The acquisition also included 28 rig-moving trucks as well as other equipment and inventory.

Dynegy Inc. announced on Wednesday that it has executed term sheets to expand and extend its commercial agreements with ChevronTexaco to purchase “substantially all” of legacy Texaco’s undedicated U.S. natural gas and natural gas liquids production through Aug. 31, 2006, increasing the ChevronTexaco volume of natural gas purchased by Dynegy by to 3 Bcf/d.

Key Republicans in the Senate, led by Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-AK), reportedly are expanding their options for energy legislation.

Dynegy Inc. said Tuesday it has expanded its e-commerce site, Dynegydirect.com, into the United Kingdom energy market, reflecting the “increasing demand for Dynegy’s products in Europe as well as the successful launch…in North America last year,” said Gary Cardone, president of Dynegy Europe Ltd.

Despite the drop in natural gas prices, Vancouver-based Methanex said Tuesday that the shutdown of its 470,000 tons/year Medicine Hat, AB facility, which uses natural gas in its methanol production, has been extended for an “indeterminate period” because of the plant’s “current non-competitive cost structure.” However, Methanex said it would move ahead on construction of a new facility in Trinidad, which it said will be less costly to operate.