Mechanical

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has reduced its natural gas-operated rig count in the Marcellus Shale and in the Greater Natural Buttes of Utah to put more mechanical muscle into the oily Wattenberg field of Colorado, which is delivering the highest rates of return (ROR) in the U.S. onshore portfolio, said CEO Al Walker.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has reduced its natural gas-operated rig count in the Marcellus Shale and in the Greater Natural Buttes of Utah to put more mechanical muscle into the oily Wattenberg field of Colorado, which is delivering the highest rates of return (ROR) in the U.S. onshore portfolio, said CEO Al Walker.

CIG said one unit at Mocane Compressor Station will be out of service July 26-30 for mechanical inspections, during which station capacity will be reduced form 66 MMcf/d to 29 MMcf/d. Firm capacity at Mocane is currently subscribed at the 30 MMcf/d level, CIG said.

Northern Natural Gas reported late Tuesday that Matagorda Offshore Pipeline System (MOPS), which it operates, had encountered an unexpected mechanical failure of the dehydration system on its onshore facilities near Tivoli, TX. “Crews are assessing the damage and determining the scope of repairs necessary to return the facility to service,” Northern said. Until then MOPS has been shut in, affecting 18 receipt points and seven delivery points (see the bulletin board for list).

MRT added a couple of clarifications to its announcement of a System Protection Warning for Friday through Tuesday; see the bulletin board for details.

Due to a mechanical issue on one of the three units at Goodsprings Compressor Station, the station’s operational capacity will be set at 1,466,000 Dth/d Wednesday until further notice, Kern River said. As a result, the Veyo Compressor Station capacity will be set at 1,988,000 Dth/d. Primary firm transportation scheduled in the Timely cycle should not be impacted if nominated quantities are similar to those on Monday’s gas day, Kern River said. It added that due to system operational conditions and the Goodsprings situation, all shippers and operators should take only the quantity of gas that is scheduled and not draft the system.

Questar said Friday it has been informed that repairs to Greasewood Compressor Station, which experienced a mechanical failure Dec. 16 (see Daily GPI, Dec. 19) will not be completed until Jan. 8.

Transwestern said Sunday it declared force majeure after experiencing a mechanical failure on Unit #1 at Crawford Compressor Station on the West Texas Lateral. Station capacity was reduced to about 32,000 MMBtu/d from the normal 60,000 MMBtu/d until the unit can be replaced. A replacement compressor will be available for service Thursday, Transwestern said, adding that it is working with customers to reroute affected gas to other receipt points.

Questar said Friday it was unable to deliver to TransColorado at their Greasewood interconnect due to mechanical problems associated with the processing facility at this location. The problems were expected to be corrected by Monday, Questar said, but it was not accepting Greasewood nominations for the gas days of Saturday and Sunday. “Questar is doing everything possible to have this delivery available for the Southern System line work” that begins Monday (see Daily GPI, Aug. 10), the pipeline said.