Finds

Amid persistent questions about supplies and sustained high prices, the Canadian natural gas community heard a reassuring word — it is not an issue in the federal election, and its defenders are armed with answers if critics step forward before the Nov. 27 vote. The good word — and the defense arsenal — came from the National Energy Board, in a 61-page market assessment released as the Canadian campaign entered its second week at the same time as falling thermometers signaled the onset of heating season.

The state-chartered, nonprofit California wholesale spot powermarket (Cal-PX) concluded this week that the state’s market isflawed but has not been gamed. The power exchange intends to makeits results public Nov. 1 in a filing to the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission, a Cal-PX spokesperson said Tuesday.

The state-chartered, nonprofit California wholesale spot powermarket (Cal-PX) concluded this week that the state’s market isflawed but has not been gamed. The power exchange intends to makeits results public Nov. 1 in a filing to the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission, a Cal-PX spokesperson said Tuesday.

BP yesterday said it has found the largest gas field to dateoffshore Trinidad and Tobago, which has become a major source ofliquefied natural gas for the U.S. market. BP’s initial well on theRed Mango field, located 35 miles east of Galeota Point, indicated3 Tcf of gas reserves and about 90 million bbl of condensate. It’sBP’s second major gas find in the area this year. The company saidit would shortly begin appraisal work to define the exact size ofthe find.

As El Paso Natural Gas worked to restore one of three pipes inits 1 Bcf/d South Mainline system, possibly by today, the NationalTransportation Safety Board (NTSB), investigating Saturday’sexplosion in one of those lines, said they found corrosion and athinning of the pipeline wall in a 22-foot section that broke offin the blast.

Privately-held Hunt Oil, based in Dallas, announced yesterday itis buying Calgary-based Newport Petroleum Corp. for C$5.50/share incash or about C$760 million, excluding C$271 in debt assumption.The offer represents a 10% premium over Newport’s closing shareprice of C$5 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on May 12. It hasunanimous support of Newport’s board and senior officers.

It’s about time everyone realized Coral Energy is a Shellaffiliate. The company initiated a corporate identity and brandingprogram yesterday supported by direct mail, Web-basedcommunications and advertisements in the Wall Street Journal, theHouston Chronicle and some trade magazines. It also has adopted anew logo design to signify its expanded commercial business andtransition from a joint venture company to a 100% affiliate ofShell’s global natural gas and power business. The logo nowincludes the Shell logo and says Coral is an affiliate of Shell.

The Inspector General of the Department of Transportation (DOT)has found severe shortcomings in the inspection practices andtraining of federal pipeline inspectors at DOT’s Office of PipelineSafety (OPS), according to a preliminary report. The unfavorableDOT report comes in the wake of a number of legislative measures onCapitol Hill seeking to reauthorize the federal Pipeline SafetyAct.

Like many other industrial operators before it, Duke EnergyServices has found that operating along California’s famouscoastline can be a rocky proposition. Duke has been forced to pullback and reconfigure plans for its Morro Bay power plant along thecentral coast to accommodate local city concerns and is makingpromises to increase the city’s coffers by up to 30% through theplant remodel.