Limited

Conoco Inc.’s Canadian midstream arm, Conoco Canada Limited,said yesterday it has acquired the bulk of Petro-Canada’s naturalgas liquids (NGL) business, including the fifth largest natural gasprocessing plant in North America, for an undisclosed sum. Closingon the purchase is scheduled to be completed in the second quarterof 2000.

NGI’s Daily Gas Price Index incorrectly stated that “active”ownership by a class of market participants in a regionaltransmission organization (RTO) was limited to a benchmark of 25%.The correct level is 15%. Active ownership of RTOs by either aclass of market participants or an individual market participantwill cease after a five-year period, “with an extension possible incertain circumstances,” FERC said last week on rehearing of Order2000, which promotes the formation of RTOs in the electricitymarket.

Coastal Gas Gathering and Processing experienced a fire Thursdayat its Dragon Trail (CO) Plant that caused one injury and limitedreceipts into Northwest, Questar, CIG and Public Service Co. ofColorado. Dragon Trail throughput was reduced temporarily to zeroFriday but was being restored by that afternoon, a spokesman said.Full output was expected to be reached by Friday night or Saturday,he said.

Cove Point LNG Limited Partnership, a subsidiary of Herndon,VA-based Columbia Energy Group, is holding an open season throughMarch 16 for a firm LNG tanker discharging service at its CovePoint LNG terminal. The new service will include the unloading ofLNG from tankers, LNG storage, vaporization, and delivery of gas topoints along Cove Point’s existing pipeline.

Strong and growing interest in LNG importation spurred ColumbiaLNG Corp. to go ahead and buy the other half of the Cove Point LNGLimited Partnership it did not already own from Potomac ElectricPower Co. unregulated subsidiary Potomac Capital Investment Corp.

MCN Energy Group Inc. completed the previously announced sale ofits share of the Midland Cogeneration Venture Limited Partnership(MCV) in Michigan. Subsidiaries of Coastal bought MCN’s 23% interestin MCV for an undisclosed amount said to be near book value. MCV wasdesignated as a Qualifying Facility (QF) under the federal PublicUtility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, or PURPA. PURPA requiresutilities to purchase power from QFs at the utilities’ avoided cost ofproducing power. MCN is selling its interests in three other QFs inanticipation of its pending merger with DTE Energy Co. (see Daily GPI,Oct. 6).

Anticipating that high system linepack will continue through theweekend due to low gas demand and limited storage injectioncapability, Tennessee Tuesday issued an OFO Action Alert to takeeffect with Thursday’s gas day. Customers under Rate Schedules SA,LMS-PA, LMS-MA and transportation contracts not covered by abalancing agreement must keep deliveries into the system less thanor equal to scheduled quantities plus 2% (or 500 dekatherms,whichever is greater); takes from the system must be more than orequal to scheduled quantities minus 2% or 500 dekatherms. Tennesseeexpects the alert to remain in effect into the start of next week.

Saying it expects high system linepack due to reduced demand andlimited storage injection capability to continue through theweekend, Tennessee is issuing an OFO Action Alert effective withSaturday’s gas day for its entire system. Under the alert, shipperswill be penalized for daily positive imbalances that exceed a 2%tolerance range (or 500 Dth, whichever is greater) from scheduledquantities. Penalties will not apply to customers who underdeliverinto the system or overtake from it, or to customers under RateSchedule LMS-MA who have elected the Storage Swing Option or Swingon Storage. Tennessee expects the alert to remain in effect intonext week.

Effective gas day today, NGPL may be able to schedule limitedamounts of interruptible gas received in the Permian Zone inSegments 7, 8 or 9 and being delivered outside the Permian Zone.