Loose

More than 45 minutes after all hell broke loose when a 30-inch diameter natural gas transmission pipeline ruptured last September, Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s (PG&E) pipeline system control center was still unsure about the extent of the problem and whether it involved the utility’s transmission pipeline, according to a 441-page transcript that was one of hundreds of records made public Tuesday at a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing. It began three days of fact-gathering in Washington, DC.

The recession has surely driven a few people to dig under their couch cushions for loose change. In cash-strapped Kentucky one lawmaker has proposed that the state look under its own property for oil and gas deposits that might be extracted and monetized.

The Mad Dog development in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico about 200 miles south of New Orleans has started producing and is expected to ramp up to about 100,000 bbl/d of oil and 60 MMcf/d of natural gas by the end of the year, said owners BP (60.5% and operator), Unocal (15.6%) and BHP Billiton (23.9%).

The Mad Dog development in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico about 200 miles south of New Orleans has started producing and is expected to ramp up to about 100,000 bbl/d of oil and 60 MMcf/d of natural gas by the end of the year, said owners BP (60.5% and operator), Unocal (15.6%) and BHP Billiton (23.9%).

In a move that could break loose a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) decision on the $300 million-plus 2003 general rate case of Pacific Gas and Electric Co., CPUC Commissioner Geoffrey Brown late last week released a new alternate decision on the case that was settled by the utility last year. Comments on the alternate are due by May 20 to the CPUC and it could be considered by the regulators at their next regular business meeting May 27.

Pacific Gas & Electric declared a systemwide Stage 2 high-inventory OFO for Friday. It carried a relatively loose positive imbalance tolerance of 9% and penalties of $1/Dth.

Concluding a four-month process, AGL Resources reported that ithas entered into an agreement with Alliance Data Systems (ADS) tosell Utilipro, Inc. — a customer care and billing serviceprovider for energy marketers in a number of states. The sale comesjust five months after the billing provider was sued for $50million by bankrupt Georgia marketer Peachtree Natural Gas.

FERC tied up all the loose ends of the Maritimes &amp NortheastPipeline project in a draft order released last week, clearing theway for the pipeline to begin delivering about 350 MMcf/d of SableIsland gas to power plants, paper mills and new markets in Maineand other New England states this fall.

FERC tied up all the loose ends in the Maritimes & NortheastPipeline project in a draft order released yesterday, clearing theway for the pipeline to begin delivering about 350 MMcf/d of SableIsland gas to power plants, paper mills and new markets in Maineand other New England states this fall.