Local

After evaluating the purchasing trends of local distribution companies (LDCs) during the 2001-2002 heating season, the American Gas Association (AGA) said it believes longer term supply contracting may assume more importance in the future.

Southern Natural Gas Co. (Sonat) said it is placing into service the first of three expansion projects that will add a total of 700 MMcf/d of new firm transportation capacity to its system by spring of 2004. All of the projects will serve mainly gas-fired power generation in the Southeast.

Natural gas pipelines, local distributors and industrial customers said they backed FERC’s current inquiry that potentially may limit the public’s access to sensitive critical energy infrastructure information (CEII), but some cautioned the agency not to go overboard in its effort. A few legal experts, however, adopted the surprising position that the Commission should use “all available legal means” to limit access to certain details about energy facilities in the wake of Sept. 11.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 854 Fund has initiated a class action lawsuit against Williams Companies Inc. and its spun-off communications company, as well as certain key officers and directors, in federal court in Oklahoma for providing false and misleading financial statements and press releases to investors.

Natural gas futures continued its astonishing rally yesterday as fund and local traders used Friday’s strong close as a springboard to a gap-higher open. Bears only hope came in the form of a weak mid-morning sell-off. But when that weakness failed to fill in the chart gap down to $3.08, bulls were quick to bid the market right back up. The April contract closed at $3.305, up 22.9 cents for the session and just below the contract’s four-and-a-half-month high notched Oct. 31 at $3.32.

Interstate natural gas pipelines, electric utility transmission owners and local distribution companies believe FERC has gone over-board in its proposed rule that would completely wall off regulated transportation and transmission companies from their unregulated affiliates to stamp out market-power abuses, while shippers and consumers — who would benefit most from the stricter rule — think the Commission has struck the right balance.

Interstate natural gas pipelines, electric utility transmission owners and local distribution companies believe FERC has gone over-board in its proposed rule that would completely wall off the regulated transportation/transmission companies from their unregulated affiliates to prevent the exercise of market power, while shippers and consumers — who would benefit most from the stricter rule — think the Commission has struck the right balance.

It is a case of the missing e-mail alert that was being debated in local California news media Tuesday regarding whether or not the nation’s largest natural gas distribution utility was alerted by the FBI last week concerning the potential threat to U.S. natural gas supplies and/or infrastructure as an outgrowth of the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. The FBI said they sent an e-mail; Sempra Energy’s Southern California Gas Co. in Los Angeles said it never received it.

Southwest local distribution utilities and municipal distributors have called on FERC to reject, or convene a technical conference to consider, El Paso Natural Gas’ application to boost export capacity on the Samalayuca Lateral by about 100 MMcf/d to meet natural gas demand in northern Mexico. They argue that such action would deprive existing El Paso customers of already-tight capacity on the pipeline’s South Mainline.