The Georgia Public Service Commission approved a consent agreement to resolve issues stemming from a June 23 gas pipeline accident near Perry Boulevard in northwestern Atlanta. A third-party excavator ruptured a 24-inch steel high-pressure gas pipeline owned by Atlanta Gas Light. The commission’s investigation found that gas continued to flow for more than four hours from the ruptured pipeline before the company was able to close the valves. The stipulation requires AGL to pay the state $30,000 and to absorb the cost of the gas lost during the incident, estimated at $17,252. In addition, the company must provide within 45 days a revised Emergency Manual that complies with all state and federal safety regulations. Within 60 days after the PSC staff approves the new manual, the company must ensure that all supervisors, service center managers and distribution center foreman are trained in emergency procedures.
June
Articles from June
Analysts Consider Possibility of Price Rebound
Although gas prices are nearly $2/MMBtu lower than they were in early June and show no signs of substantially reversing course, ever-bullish analysts at Raymond James & Associates devoted their “Stat of the Week” outlook to making a case for a significant rebound in the August natural gas market. Others experts, however, aren’t buying it.
Inspectors Verify Re-election of Incumbent El Paso Board
The independent inspectors of El Paso Corp.’s annual shareholder meeting in June have certified that the incumbent board of directors’ nominees were re-elected, verifying earlier announcements by the Houston-based company.
Inspectors Verify Re-election of Incumbent El Paso Board
The independent inspectors of El Paso Corp.’s annual shareholder meeting in June have certified that the incumbent board of directors’ nominees were re-elected, verifying earlier announcements by the Houston-based company.
Transportation Notes
El Paso said that coincidentally with its June 24-28 annual maintenance shutdown of the Keystone Station, another unspecified pipeline that serves the same area experienced an unscheduled outage and “the combined effect on the Permian area has caused large volumes of gas to be shut in.” To help alleviate the situation, El Paso is forgoing some of the planned work at Keystone in order to return it to service ahead of schedule. The “A” plant became available Wednesday afternoon, and capacity through Keystone was raised to 600 MMcf/d effective with Thursday’s Cycle 2 nominations. Keystone’s “B” plant, which normally pumps gas south to the Waha Area, will not be available until Cycle 1 on Saturday. See the bulletin board for further details.
Amid Muddled Technicals and Fundamentals, Futures Manage Modest Advance
After initially ducking lower to equal Monday’s $5.16 low, the June natural gas futures contract struggled higher in featureless trading on its first session as prompt contract Tuesday. It closed at $5.236, up 4.6 cents for the session and 7.6 cents off its early low. Estimated volume was light, with 69,391 contracts changing hands.
Insurers Allege J.P. Morgan Conspired with Enron
In legal documents filed June 21, 11 insurance companies allege J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. conspired to make Enron Corp. look healthier than it was to cover up J.P. Morgan’s exposure to the company. The allegations are to be the insurance companies’ defense in the legal dispute over who should bear the cost of more than $1 billion in former Enron financing: J.P. Morgan or the insurers.
EIA Sees Room for Prices to Fall, Adequate Supply
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its June Short Term Energy Outlook that gas production should be down more than 3% this year and supply concerns, though overblown, have been the root cause of prices remaining above $3/MMBtu (EIA said nothing of the liquidity crisis in the market, which may be pushing prices higher — see related story). It also expects the storage surplus to fill in for any supply declines on the production side.
Industry Veteran: FERC Likely to Require Regular Gas Transaction Reporting
Gas industry consultant Benjamin Schlesinger, president of Maryland-based Schlesinger and Associates, believes that federal regulators may require all natural gas companies to begin reporting their transactions to FERC in a way similar to what electric companies already do on a quarterly basis. Schlesinger, a 30-year gas industry veteran and former vice president at the American Gas Association, said in an interview that he wouldn’t be surprised at all if FERC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on the matter sometime between now and December.
WSI: Strong Cooling Demand in Northeast, Southwest for Summer
In its latest seasonal update for June to August, WSI Corp. is forecasting a relatively strong cooling demand in the Northeast and Southwest, which raises the possibility of electricity-driven price support at key regional gas hubs this summer. Although cooler temperatures in the Pacific Northwest and Southeast should free up power for export to neighboring regions, WSI said, “constrained areas with limited generating and import capacity, such as New York City, Long Island and southwest Connecticut, remain vulnerable to heat-driven price spikes.”
