natural gas data

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) has denied an application filed by Fairbanks Natural Gas LLC (FNG) and approved an application filed by Interior Alaska Natural Gas Utility (IANGU) for the right to distribute natural gas in the Fairbanks North Star Borough area. In denying the application by FNG, commissioners said the privately owned utility relied too heavily on presumed gas demand from Golden Valley Electric Association. The commission found that the FNG application overstated expected demand from Golden Valley by 0.5 to 1.5 Bcf per year. Three local area governments formed IANGU about a year ago to serve an area beyond the existing FNG service territory following dissatisfaction with the rates charged by FNG. FNG, which is owned by Minnesota investors, had also applied to the RCA to serve the same territory.

Coming off a much warmer than normal weekend in which a number of eastern population centers welcomed the official start of winter with temperatures in the high 60s to low 70s, the return to more seasonable cold on Monday, with forecasts of more to come, saw the value of physical gas traded for Tuesday delivery increase at nearly all points across the country.

Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) announced Friday that bipartisan legislation they authored to help streamline oil and gas permitting on federal lands in western North Dakota has passed the U.S. Senate and is headed to the White House for President Obama’s signature.

David F. Smith, executive chairman of National Fuel Gas Co., is retiring effective April 1. He would continue to serve as chairman of the board. Smith joined National Fuel in 1978 and was CEO from February 2008 until March. Elected to the board in 2007 and named chairman in 2010, Smith during his tenure served as president of National Fuel Gas Supply Corp., National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp., Empire Pipeline Inc. and National Fuel Resources Inc. “During his five years as CEO, Dave established the current course of the company, focusing attention and significant resources on development in the Marcellus Shale as Seneca Resources Corp.’s total production nearly tripled and the company’s pipeline business commenced a historic, transformational realignment,” said CEO Ron Tanski. Seneca is the exploration and production (E&P) arm of the company. The integrated Williamsville, NY-based operator has $6.2 billion in assets in E&P, gathering, utility, energy marketing, and pipeline and storage.

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) has denied an application filed by Fairbanks Natural Gas LLC (FNG) and approved an application filed by Interior Alaska Natural Gas Utility (IANGU) for the right to distribute natural gas in the Fairbanks North Star Borough area. In denying the application by FNG, commissioners said the privately owned utility relied too heavily on presumed gas demand from Golden Valley Electric Association. The commission found that the FNG application overstated expected demand from Golden Valley by 0.5 to 1.5 Bcf per year. Three local area governments formed IANGU about a year ago to serve an area beyond the existing FNG service territory following dissatisfaction with the rates charged by FNG. FNG, which is owned by Minnesota investors, had also applied to the RCA to serve the same territory.

The second phase of the liquefaction project at Southern LNG Co.’s Elba Island LNG Terminal near Savannah, GA, has been given the go-ahead by Shell US Gas & Power LLC. Elba Liquefaction Co. LLC was told to proceed by the Royal Dutch Shell plc subsidiary, El Paso Pipeline Partners LP (EPB) said. EPB’s Southern Liquefaction Co. owns 51% of Elba Liquefaction (see Daily GPI, Jan. 29). Capacity to be added in Phase II will range from 70 MMcf/d (0.5 million tonnes per year) up to 140 MMcf/d (1.0 million tonnes per year). The estimated capital expenditure of Phase II at the maximum volume of 140 MMcf/d is about $500 million. Phase I of the project, consisting of six liquefaction units, will provide 210 MMcf/d of export capacity and is expected to be in service in late 2016 or early 2017. Phase II, covering two additional liquefaction units, has an expected in-service in 2017-2018. If the maximum volume for Phase II is elected, the Elba liquefaction project is expected to have total capacity of 350 MMcf/d (2.5 million tonnes per year) of LNG. The project was announced in early 2013 and will use Shell’s small-scale liquefaction units. The project is currently in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission review process.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) and Targa Resources Partners LP have formed a joint venture to construct natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionation facilities at Mont Belvieu, TX, to serve producers in the Utica and Marcellus shale. The project is intended to complement a proposed NGL pipeline, the Utica Marcellus Texas Pipeline (UMTP). A binding open season currently under way for UMTP, a proposed joint venture of MarkWest Utica EMG LLC and KMP (see Shale Daily, Aug. 9), has been extended until Feb. 28. UMTP will involve the abandonment and conversion, subject to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval, of more than 1,000 miles of KMP’s existing Tennessee Gas Pipeline system, currently in natural gas service, from Mercer, PA, to Natchitoches, LA, and building approximately 200 miles of pipeline from Natchitoches to Mont Belvieu for fractionation. “The joint venture with Targa will provide our NGL pipeline customers with a fully integrated NGL solution from the tailgate of their processing plants in Utica and Marcellus to the ultimate consumer of the purity products along the Gulf Coast,” said Don Lindley, president of NGLs for KMP.

Physical natural gas for weekend and Monday delivery on average nationally was flat in Friday’s trading, hiding the fact that there were major weather-driven declines along the Eastern Seaboard and healthy gains at points positioned to move gas to the Midwest.

Weekly physical gas prices for the five trading days ending Dec. 20 were awash in a sea of red ink. NGI’s National Weekly Spot Gas Average came in at $4.48, down a stout 66 cents with all regions losing anywhere from a nickel to more than $2.