Overpull

El Paso said an Unauthorized Overpull Penalty situation declared Tuesday due to low linepack was being continued Wednesday until further notice. The Washington Ranch storage facility is experiencing maximum withdrawals, the pipeline said.

El Paso declared an Unauthorized Overpull Penalty situation late Tuesday afternoon, citing “low linepack, the unavailability of withdrawal capability at Washington Ranch storage facility and continued forecasted warm weather in our operating area.”

El Paso declared an Unauthorized Overpull Penalty situation late Thursday afternoon due to low linepack and forecasts of continued cold weather in its operating area. The Washington Ranch storage facility is experiencing maximum withdrawals, El Paso said. To insure system integrity, it will limit scheduled volumes at underperforming interconnects.

El Paso remained in an Unauthorized Overpull Penalty situation Friday due to low linepack and forecasts of cold weather in its operating area. The pipeline reported being “under withdrawal” at its Washington Ranch storage facility. Shippers were urged to review the performance of suppliers to insure that receipts were sufficient to cover deliveries. El Paso said it lacked the flexibility to offer paybacks or allow overpulls during the UOP period, which was declared Thursday. It added that markets will not be kept whole and limits will be placed on scheduled volumes at underperforming interconnects to insure system integrity.

Citing low linepack and maximum withdrawals at its Washington Ranch storage facility, El Paso declared an Unauthorized Overpull Penalty situation Sunday. The OFO was being lifted Tuesday afternoon, a spokeswoman said.

Saying linepack had stabilized, El Paso canceled Friday an Overpull Penalty Alert that had been issued Wednesday morning. While the OFO was still in place, El Paso postponed repairs on the Dilkon Station’s B turbine until next week. The pipeline had expected to begin the work, which will cause a 30 MMcf/d reduction of North Mainline capacity, last Wednesday.

Saying it was experiencing maximum withdrawals at the Washington Ranch storage facility, El Paso declared an Unauthorized Overpull Penalty situation Wednesday morning due to low linepack. Because of the OFO and high system demand, a maintenance shutdown of Line 1100 upstream of Guadalupe Station that had been scheduled for today was postponed until further notice.

El Paso lifted Friday an Overpull Penalty Alert notice that had been posted Tuesday afternoon. However, it cautioned that with a San Juan Crossover project involving installation of pigging facilities on Lines 1300 and 1301 scheduled for Dec. 1-2, 300 MMcf/d of system supply would be unavailable over the weekend and the alert would be reinstated if necessary. El Paso said concerns about cold weather, low linepack and other operational issues had caused rumors that the Crossover work might be canceled, although no such statement had been issued by the pipeline. Because El Paso and upstream producers had invested substantial efforts and resources in preparing for the maintenance, “rescheduling would be very difficult. The operational concerns have lessened considerably, and although the overall system is not in ideal condition for a shutdown of this scale, the shutdown will occur as scheduled.”

An Unauthorized Overpull Penalty situation declared Tuesday afternoon by El Paso remained in effect Wednesday until further notice.