Gulf

TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. has put its U.S. Gulf coast midstreamfacilities andpetroleum and products marketing and tradingbusinesses on the block, continuing to slim down assets to its coretransmission holdings.

The Genesis Project, a deep-water oil and natural gas platform, has gone into production in 2,600 feet of water in the Gulf ofMexico. The drilling and production platform, operated by Chevron,is expected to produce approximately 30,000 barrels of oil and morethan 20 MMcf/d during 1999. Production is planned to increase at asteady pace so that in 2000 Genesis will reach its peak productioncapacity of 55,000 barrels of oil and 72 MMcf/d.

Quotes for late December gas and the January bidweek tended tomove a few cents higher Wednesday. A Gulf Coast trader felt Januarycash had moved up about a nickel “in sympathy with the cold weathersweeping across most of the nation.”

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.

The proposal of Columbia Gas Transmission and Columbia GulfTransmission calling for FERC to allow the negotiation of terms andconditions of pipeline services would provide a “usefulimplementation tool for enactment of a generic program,” theAmerican Gas Association says.

Columbia Gas Transmission and Columbia Gulf Transmissionyesterday followed through on a long-standing promise to provideFERC with some new regulatory ideas in the area of negotiated termsand conditions of service. The transmission subsidiaries ofColumbia Energy filed a proposal to establish a new regulatorymodel called Standard/Customized services. Columbia said it’s the”next logical step in the evolution of pipeline regulation andnatural gas markets.”

The first phase of the Dauphin Island Gathering System (DIGS)expansion was put in service last week, making it the first easternGulf of Mexico pipeline to transport deep-water production toonshore facilities in Alabama. When complemented by the secondphase of its expansion, DIGS – a project of the Dauphin IslandGathering Partners (DIGP) – will have the capability to deliver upto 1.1 Bcf/d to onshore markets and pipelines in south Alabama andsouth Louisiana. The system will have hub platform capabilities atmultiple locations on the Outer Continental Shelf and in deep-waterareas. It is expandable with the addition of compression.

The futures screen “fell like a rock” Monday and, of course,cash prices then had to do likewise, said a Gulf Coast producer.Some points were essentially flat, such as Northwest (both domesticand Sumas) and NorAm-east. Others dropped 2-9 cents, with declinesof a nickel most common. Activity was fairly light, especiallysince some traders hadn’t returned yet from the holiday weekend, amarketer noted. But what prices lacked in volume they made up involatility as a number of points saw double-digit ranges. Onesource said his Chicago deals went from $2.64 early on to $2.49 atthe end.

Amoco Oil, Enterprise Products, Exxon Chemical and WilliamsField Services announced plans to form a joint venture to build andoperate a 60,000 b/d natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionationfacility near Baton Rouge, LA. Construction has begun, and start-upis expected next March. The joint venture is to be called BatonRouge Fractionators LLC. Enterprise will operate the plant andmanage fractionation services. Amoco will process its PascagoulaGas Plant volumes at the facility. Exxon will process a portion ofits Louisiana area NGLs there, and Williams will contract toprocess its Mobile Bay Gas Plant volumes at the facility.