Northwestern

Calgary-based Canadian Superior Energy Inc. completed an acquisition of a major acreage position in northwestern Alberta, totaling 22 sections of contiguous land located “updip” of the main Ladyfern natural gas field, which complements previously acquired land in this “highly competitive” natural gas play.

Sonat experienced an unscheduled outage on the 14-inch Logansport Line in northwestern Louisiana. Effective Wednesday until further notice, it is unable to accept nominations for the J. W. Gathering receipt point. Sonat said Wednesday it is still evaluating repairs for the Bayou Postillion Line (see Daily GPI, Feb. 13).

Despite bearish storage data and the formation of a tropical storm in the northwestern Caribbean Sea Wednesday afternoon, natural gas futures shuffled mostly sideways Thursday as neither bull nor bear was willing to propel the market very much in either direction. After being held to a relatively-tight, 15-cent trading range, the December contract finished a tenth of a cent lower at $3.29. Estimated volume was 73,349 contracts.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has directed Columbia Gas of Ohio to operate the bankrupt West Milgrove Gas Co., in the northwestern part of the state, until a new owner is found or its 120 customers secure alternative fuel sources such as propane for their homes.

Snyder Oil Corp. of Fort Worth, TX, completed the sale of itsremaining 55% interest in the Southeast Piceance Project innorthwestern Colorado to Ballard Petroleum LLC in a cashtransaction worth $28.8 million. The Piceance Project representsless than 5% of Snyder’s third quarter 1998 production and isestimated to represent 7% of its 1998 proven year-end reserves.

The severe winter cold snap last week triggered unprecedentedprice spikes at spot points in the Pacific Northwest and NorthernCalifornia. PG&ampE Citygate prices hit $6.18/MMBtu on Monday andwere near $5 on Tuesday. Prices jumped to $11.05/MMBtu at Sumas onthe previous Friday for weekend flow, and on Monday and Tuesdaystayed north of $6.

Viking Gas Transmission last week proposed plans for a 45-mile,28 MMcf/d looping of its existing system in northwestern andcentral Minnesota in 1999. This is “a smaller project matched tomeet incremental market demand,” said Viking Gas President GregoryH. Palmer, but he noted it’s the first of a series of expansionsthe pipeline plans to carry out over the next couple of years.

Columbia Gas Transmission’s proposal to sell its Project Pennytransmission system in western New York and northwesternPennsylvania to Norse Pipeline LLC, which seeks to refunctionalizethe facilities as gathering, is a “thinly-veiled attempt todramatically increase” rates to move gas on the system atproducers’ expense, charged an independent producer.