Offshore

Southern Natural Gas reported experiencing an unscheduled outage Friday morning at Gate 6 offshore Louisiana. Some production was shut in as a result, but based on the best information available, Southern said it would try to keep markets whole for Friday’s gas day. Damage assessment is under way, the pipeline added.

Northern Natural Gas, operator of the Matagorda Offshore Pipeline System (MOPS), said construction delays have changed its tentative schedule for restoring service on MOPS following a June 12 shutdown (see Daily GPI, July 20). Nine platforms are now scheduled to be reactivated during the gas days of Friday and Saturday for pressure testing of the system and bringing the mainline back to normal operating pressure. A pig launching from the Mustang 758 platform is set for Monday of next week to clear accumulated liquids. Nominations will be accepted for Monday’s gas day for the nine platforms that were activated to facilitate the pigging activity. The pig is expected to be received at the Tivoli (TX) Plant on or before Aug. 3, where the plant is expected to take a minimum of three days to process the liquids. All platform production will be shut in during the liquids processing. Once they have been processed, the MOPS system will return to normal operations. Currently that is expected to happen Aug. 7, Northern Natural said.

Would-be importers overcame a challenge by the Alberta government to win a landmark victory in opening eastern Canada to offshore cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) with rolled-in tolls for connections to the new supplies. The National Energy Board cited the growing aggregate demand of all shippers combined with the expected decline of supplies from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin as driving its decision.

Would-be importers overcame a challenge by the Alberta government to win a landmark victory in opening eastern Canada to offshore cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) with rolled-in tolls for connections to the new supplies. The National Energy Board cited the growing aggregate demand of all shippers combined with the expected decline of supplies from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin as driving its decision.

Northern Natural Gas, operator of the Matagorda Offshore Pipeline System (MOPS), has posted a tentative plan for returning MOPS to service. In a project to disconnect and abandon the Matagorda Island 686C compression platform, the 24-inch diameter line was shut in and blown down June 12 from Mustang Island 758 to the onshore Tivoli, TX, processing plant. The project was expected to be completed July 16, but weather problems plagued the subsea work and the outage was extended, a Northern spokeswoman said. The work caused 21 receipt points and seven delivery points to be shut in. Eight MOPS platforms in addition to Mustang Island 758 will be brought on-line Monday and Tuesday to pressure test the system and bring the mainline back to normal operating pressure. On Wednesday a pig will be launched from the Mustang Island 758 platform to clear accumulated liquids from the mainline. Nominations will be accepted for Wednesday’s gas day for the nine platforms listed (see bulletin board) to facilitate the pigging activity. The pig is expected to be received at the Tivoli plant on or before July 29, and it is expected to take a minimum of three days afterward to process the liquids. All platform production will be shut in during the liquids processing. Once the liquids have been processed the MOPS system will return to normal operations, which is expected to be for the Aug. 2 gas day.

Tennessee declared a force majeure event Thursday in connection with a leak on its 527A-100 Line offshore Louisiana. See the bulletin board for a list of 12 meters that were required to shut in until leak repairs are completed.

A shortage of offshore rigs may force Chevron Corp. and its partners to delay work on the deepwater Jack prospect in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) until later this year or until early 2008, the company said last week.

A shortage of offshore rigs may force Chevron Corp. and its partners to delay work on the deepwater Jack prospect in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) until later this year or until early 2008, the company said Wednesday.

Up to 25% of U.S. manufacturers are considering shifting their domestic operations offshore if rising chemical costs — as well as rising costs for natural gas, a feedstock important to many — are not controlled, according to a report by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).