Michael

Westcoast CEO Michael Phelps said yesterday the company is planning to double the capacity of the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline system to transport more than 1.2 Bcf/d in five years but expects an additional expansion to 2 Bcf/d by the end of the decade.

Confirming plans announced last week by Westcoast Energy CEO Michael Phelps, Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline said yesterday it has signed agreements with PanCanadian Petroleum Corp. to transport up to 400 MMcf/d of gas from PanCanadian’s C$1 billion Deep Panuke project offshore Nova Scotia to markets in Atlantic Canada and New England (see Daily GPI, June 15).

Despite high natural gas prices and reports of flat productionthroughout North America over the last five years, gas-firedelectric generation in operation, construction or developmentreached a new all-time record in the month of March, according to anew report by Energy Ventures Analysis Inc (EVA). With the help ofnew projects announced within the last three months, gas-firedgeneration topped 305,000 MW.

Westcoast Energy CEO Michael Phelps told Reuters news serviceafter a New York investors conference yesterday that he expectsMaritimes & Northeast gas volumes to triple in five years tomore than 1.6 Bcf/d.

Yankee Energy’s board has named Michael G. Morris president andCEO, succeeding Charles E. Gooley, who died two weeks ago followinga long battle with cancer. Morris currently is chairman, presidentand CEO of Northeast Utilities and Chairman of Yankee EnergySystem. In addition, Dennis E. Welch was elected senior vicepresident, COO and director of Yankee Energy and subsidiaries.Welch, formerly vice president of environment, safety and ethics atNU, will run the day-to-day operations of Yankee.

Baker Hughes announced that Michael E. Wiley, 49, will becomeits chairman of the board, president, and chief executive officeron Aug. 14. The appointment concludes the company’s search for anew chief executive, which began in February. Wiley was presidentand chief operating officer of Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO)until completion of its sale to BP Amoco in May. Previously, heserved as CEO of Vastar Resources.

Westcoast CEO Michael Phelps announced that Irv Koop has beenappointed executive vice president of Westcoast Energy Inc. andpresident and CEO of pipelines and midstream operations. Inaddition to his ongoing responsibility of overseeing pipeline andfield services divisions, Koop will take on new responsibility forWestcoast Gas Services, Foothills Pipe Lines and other pipelines inwhich Westcoast Energy has an interest, such as Alliance andMaritimes & Northeast. Doug Haughey, previously executive vicepresident of Engage Energy. has been appointed president of thepipeline and field services divisions.

Michael L. Williams has been named chairman of the TexasRailroad Commission (TRC). He replaces previous chairman TonyGarza. Williams is leading an agency-industry review of thecommission’s regulatory framework. He said, “the world energyindustry is changing dramatically – government needs to change itsapproach as well. With that in mind, the commission can and shouldoperate to allow Texas producers to act faster, operate less costlyand with more flexibility.

Michael I. German has been elected president and COO of New YorkState Electric & Gas based in Ithaca, NY. German joined NYSEGin 1994 as senior vice president of the company’s Gas BusinessUnit. Prior to that he was senior vice president of the AmericanGas Association in Washington. NYSEG is the primary subsidiary ofEnergy East Corp., which offered to buy Connecticut Energy Corp.for $617 million last Friday.