FERC Chairman Curt Hebert Jr. last week tapped Kevin P. Madden,a well-known and popular official at the Commission, to be generalcounsel. He succeeds Doug Smith, who left the Commission on Friday.
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FERC Chairman Curt Hebert Jr. last week tapped Kevin P. Madden,a well-known and popular official at the Commission, to be generalcounsel. He succeeds Doug Smith, who left the Commission on Friday.Madden has held a number of posts during his 21-year tenure atFERC, most recently as deputy director of the Office of Markets,Tariffs and Rates. Prior to that, he had been director of theOffice of Pipeline Regulation since 1988. He also served as anattorney adviser and trial attorney in the Office of GeneralCounsel during his years at FERC. “I chose Mr. Madden from a largefield of potential candidates both outside and within theCommission. His contributions will be crucial to our futureachievements, especially during this critical juncture of electricmarkets,” Hebert said.
Transportation Notes
El Paso Energy Corp. clarified Wednesday that what used to be knownas Channel Industries Gas, which exploded Monday evening (see DailyGPI, Dec. 6), is now managed by a unitcalled El Paso Energy Intrastate Co. and has not actually changed tothat name. The instrastate unit refers to it as the A-S Line becauseit runs from Agua Dulce to the Sabine River at the Texas-Louisianaborder. The rupture occurred downstream of the Houston Ship Channelwhere most its major customers are located, a spokeswomansaid. Because of supply re-routing or fuel switching, there are stillno service interruptions occurring or expected, she added. Averagerecent throughput was 400 MMcf/d, the spokeswoman said, but the volumeof gas lost to the atmosphere was unavailable.
Transportation Notes
El Paso Energy Intrastate (formerly known as Channel)experienced a rupture of its 30-inch line Monday evening nearBaytown, TX, east of Houston. There was no fire, but a voluntaryevacuation of the area was conducted, a spokeswoman said. Oneinjury was reported as a result of the evacuation, and as of middayTuesday everyone had returned home except for two families whosehomes were damaged, she said. No service interruptions are expectedas all demands are being met through gas re-routing or fuelswitching, the spokeswoman said. The line probably will be returnedto service by the end of the week. It is owned 50-50 by El PasoEnergy and Enron Corp. and is operated by El Paso Field Services.
Cash Dives on Cool Weather as Gordon Wimps Out
Cool fall weather and rapid breakdown of the storm formerlyknown as Hurricane Gordon were enough to take the wind out of thecash market’s sails yesterday as prices plummeted across the board.
Gordon Causes Few Problems in Gulf
The thunderstorm formerly known as Hurricane Gordon moved toofar east too fast then slowed too much too soon to have much impacton the key U.S. oil and gas production areas off the Gulf ofMexico. By Monday afternoon, the evacuated offshore workers hadbeen returned to their rigs and power lost in Florida communitieshad been restored.
Witching Hour for California Energy
When the clock strikes midnight tonight on the West Coast,California’s state legislature, which has been known to stop theCapitol clocks at 11:59 p.m. in similar occasions, will eitherprovide some ways out of the state’s electricity problems or watchits efforts turn back into the pumpkin that has represented thissummer’s high bills and short power supplies.
Powder River Basin Drilling Gathers Strength
The Powder River Basin, which is known widely for its coal-bedmethane (CBM) gas production, is without a doubt the “most active”onshore basin in the Lower 48, and will likely hold thisdistinction for a long time to come, according to a majorgatherer-processor in the basin.
Powder River Takes the Lead in Drilling Activity
The Powder River Basin, which is known widely for its coal-bedmethane (CBM) gas production, is without a doubt the “most active”onshore basin in the Lower 48, and will likely hold thisdistinction for a long time to come, according to a majorgatherer-processor in the basin.
TXU Selling Processing to New Company
TXU of Dallas sold substantially all of the assets of its gasprocessing subsidiary in Texas, TXU Processing Co. (TXUP), toCantera Resources Inc. for $105 million. TXUP (previously known asEnserch Processing Inc.) has 162 full-time employees, now bound forCantera, and owns and operates nine gas processing plants suppliedby more than 1,800 miles of company-controlled gathering lines withinstalled gathering compression of more than 34,500 horsepower.