Gulf

Reliant Energy International Inc. said it has sold its 50%indirect interest in a natural gas distribution company alongMexico’s Gulf Coast. Tractebel purchased Gas Natural de Rio Panucofrom an indirect subsidiary of Reliant and its Mexican partner,Corporacion Gutsa SA de CV (Gutsa) for $8.5 million. NorAm Energy,which was acquired by Reliant Energy in August 1997, partnered withGutsa to win a 30-year concession to build, operate and maintain anatural gas system in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas.The area includes the cities of Tampico, Ciudad Madero andAltamira, which lie in the Panuco River Basin, and has a totalpopulation of one million.

Deep-water gas production reached 560 MMcf/d in 1998 from only381 MMcf/d the year prior, a 47% increase, according to datareleased yesterday by the Mineral Management Service (MMS). Another311.5 MMcf/d of deep-water gas production is expected to come online this year.

Attempting to better accommodate the burgeoning Gulf Coast powerdemand, Entergy Corp. spent $1.9 billion to purchase 24 GE 7FAadvanced technology gas turbines and four steam turbines from GE,Entergy said yesterday. Delivery is scheduled through 2004. Theagreement includes turnkey installation of the 1,000 MW Freestonepower plant project and long-term service agreements (LTSAs) thatcover all scheduled maintenance for a period of 16 years followingthe start- up of each turbine.

Coastal Oil & Gas and Santa Fe Snyder have exchangedproperties in Utah, Wyoming, Texas and the Gulf of Mexico “toconsolidate assets into core areas for each company. Coastalreceived interests in six GOM blocks, plus the Jeffress Field inSouth Texas and 97,000 acres in Uintah and Duchense Counties inUtah. Coastal also received a cash payment of $18 million. Santa FeSnyder received interests in 22 Wyoming fields in the Green RiverBasin and three units in Gaines County, TX, in the Permian Basin.

“It’s been a fun market recently if you like roller-coasters.” AGulf Coast marketer was referring to Thursday pricing that onceagain started significantly lower but later moved higher to settlenear the top end of daily ranges. Softening continued at mostpoints but was very mild compared to the larger drops earlier thisweek. A majority of the declines were about a nickel or less, and afew scattered points even turned in flat performances.

Natural Gas Intelligence the weekly gas market newsletterpublished : August 16, 1999

NGPL reported experiencing an unexpected pipeline outageSaturday south of Station 304 on the Gulf Coast Mainline. Untilfurther notice NGPL is unable to flow volumes from six receiptpoints in Panola County, TX.

Looking to spread its presence in the Gulf of Mexico, OceanEnergy Inc. (OEI) entered into a drilling agreement with DukeEnergy Hydrocarbons, LLC to jointly develop 13 OEI drillingprospects in the outer continental shelf. The Duke subsidiaryagreed to participate with up to 50% non-operating working interestin the program. The two companies anticipate drilling costs willexceed $40 million for the rest of 1999.

Maintenance on parts of Columbia Gulf’s East Lateral system(Paradis Line) will begin Saturday, two days earlier thanpreviously announced. Originally scheduled to begin May 10 (seeDaily GPI, April 19), the work will take three to 10 days tocomplete and require about 65,000 dth/d to be shut in at 11measurement stations.