Gathering

Oneok said it completed a $240 million purchase of East Texas gas and oil properties and related gathering systems from Wagner & Brown Ltd. of Midland, TX. The deal gives Oneok an additional 177 Bcfe of proved reserves with a reserves-to-production index of 12.4 years. The transaction was financed through short-term borrowings. Over the long term, Oneok will finance this transaction with available cash, the issuance of equity or a combination of both. “This transaction not only expands the Oneok footprint, but it reinforces the Oneok strategy of owning and controlling reserves,” said Oneok Chairman David Kyle.

ONEOK Inc. has purchased 177.2 Bcfe of gas and oil reserves in East Texas with additional probable and potential reserves and related gathering systems from Wagner & Brown Ltd. of Midland, TX, for $240 million.

Production from Dominion’s “wet” gathering system that was being delivered off-system to Equitrans at the Copley and West Union interconnect meters must be shut in immediately, Dominion said shortly after the start of Wednesday’s gas day. “At this point, we do not know when deliveries can resume.” The pipeline has had mixed success in trying to move to Equitrans wet system gas upstream of Hastings (WV) Extraction Plant that was shut in after an Oct. 31 explosion and fire at the plant (see Daily GPI, Nov. 18).

Transco said it experienced a 1 Bcf/d production loss from Hurricane Claudette, primarily off of its Central Texas Gathering System, North High Island system and the UTOS interconnect. As a result Transco instituted its Emergency Supply Allocation Process for Tuesday and Wednesday, which will balance all deliveries on the system with the flowing supply available at the corresponding receipt points. Transco said it would not allow make up deliveries nor would it loan shippers gas under its parking and lending service, but it said it would make emergency storage service available to firm shippers on request.

FERC should “take the lead” in establishing a “new system” for gathering, preparing and reporting data on natural gas trades to either a government-run or government-sanctioned price index developer, said a national group of consumer advocate agencies.

Newly formed gas midstream company Regency Gas Services has acquired approximately 2,300 miles of natural gas gathering lines and four processing plants as well as pipeline assets from El Paso Corp. for $120 million.

Still operating under outdated laws and information-gathering processes, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) are severely hamstrung in their abilities to effectively monitor and provide timely data on natural gas markets to ensure that any upward price movement is a response to competitive factors rather than manipulative forces, according to a review carried out by another federal agency.

The National Energy Board (NEB) will be gathering information from key gas industry players in the Maritimes region over the next few months in preparation for two public reports on the functioning of the Atlantic Canadian gas market. The board also plans to publishing data gathered for the reports on a monthly basis from gas export license holders. It will collect data on domestic and export prices through surveys and publish the results in an aggregate format.

The National Energy Board (NEB) will be gathering information from key gas industry players in the Maritimes region over the next few months in preparation for two public reports on the functioning of the Atlantic Canadian gas market. The board also plans to publishing data gathered for the reports on a monthly basis from gas export license holders. It will collect data on domestic and export prices through surveys and publish the results in an aggregate format.