Holding

East Tennessee Natural Gas, a unit of Houston-based El PasoEnergy, is holding an open season for incremental capacity alongits mainline in Tennessee and Virginia. The proposed expansionwould entail construction of mainline pipeline, compression andrelated facilities. Service is targeted to begin Nov. 1, 2000.

East Tennessee Natural Gas, a unit of Houston-based El PasoEnergy, is holding an open season for incremental capacity alongits mainline in Tennessee and Virginia. The proposed expansionwould entail construction of mainline pipeline, compression andrelated facilities. Service is targeted to begin Nov. 1, 2000.

CNG Transmission is holding an open season to solicit interestin 45-to-60-day firm storage service available in the 2001-2002winter season. The Market Choice Storage Project offers a limitedopportunity to obtain firm market-area storage on the CNGT system.The service includes up to three turns in the winter season, noratchets if inventory stays above 35 percent, and a five-year term.Price estimates are at projected General Storage Services and FirmTransportation rate schedules. CNGT’s pipeline system has access tosupply basins in Canada, the Gulf Coast, Midcontinent, andAppalachia for storage refill opportunities. The system offers keydelivery points, such as Leidy, Oakford, Ellisburg, Nokesville,numerous LDC citygates and its North and South points. The openseason began yesterday and concludes at 5 p.m. EDT April 30. CNGanticipates rolled-in pricing under Rate Schedule GSS. Forinformation, call Joe Kienle, director of business development,(412) 787-4248.

Some speculated Alliance Pipeline might be hurt by FERC’s movenot to issue preliminary determinations (PDs) to the four projectsthat would provide takeaway capacity for Canadian gas from Chicagoto East Coast markets. But Alliance officials last week quicklydismissed that notion.

Despite bullish prospects two years ago with the advent ofderegulated energy markets, California independent gas producers atthe start of 1999 are still struggling against depressed prices,slow developing electric and gas restructurings and a hard core ofthree major investor-owned utilities that have proven to beformidable competitors. One independent producer, Tri-Valley Corp.,in Bakersfield still expects to ride out continuing years of redink until real gas/electric competition and increased oil/gasprices eventually make current projects profitable in the long run.

Southern Co. is seeking a Securities and Exchange Commissionwaiver of Public Utility Holding Company Act rules so it can doubleits already massive investment program in nonregulated powergeneration assets primarily in North America over the next fewyears.

With demand rising in southern California and its pipes too fullto do anything about it, Transwestern Pipeline Co. is holding anopen season through Dec. 18 to solicit shipper interest in apossible mainline expansion. The pipeline is exploring theconstruction of a compressor station near Gallup, NM, that willincrease mainline capacity to the California border by 140,000Dth/d. The cost of the expansion is estimated at $15-$20 million.

The cash market, seeing essentially nothing in the way ofdirectional influence, went into a holding pattern Thursday withfew points straying any further than 2-3 cents on either side offlat. A screen drop of just under a penny was deemedinconsequential, and even though some market areas were seeingnear-freezing temperatures Thursday, forecasts of warmer weatherfor the weekend through the middle of next week tempered any buyingenthusiasm.

Coastal’s Colorado Interstate Gas (CIG), and Southwest Gassubsidiary Paiute Pipeline are holding an open season for capacityon a new pipeline to be built from northeast Utah to northernNevada. Jointly sponsored by CIG and Paiute, the Ruby Pipeline willextend more than 400 miles from CIG’s western terminus in UintahCounty, UT, to an interconnection with Paiute Pipeline near Elko,NV. The pipeline also will interconnect with the Kern RiverPipeline near its Dog Valley meter station south of Salt Lake Cityand will pass through the developing coalbed methane fields nearPrice, UT.