Owners

The various owners of the Black Marlin Pipeline System, a75-mile long natural gas and condensate gathering system in theGulf of Mexico, have sold the line to Williams Field Services for$9.25 million. The line was purchased from Blue Dolphin Energy, a50% owner, MCNIC Pipeline & Processing Co., a 33.33% owner, andWBI Holdings, Inc., a 16.67% owner. The sale includes related shorefacilities servicing the High Island area. Ivar Siem, chairman ofprimary owner Blue Dolphin, said the company had purchased BlackMarlin in early 1999 “during a period when the system hadexperienced lower throughput volumes due to limited drillingactivity in the High Island area. Since then the activity level hasbeen very high and significant additional reserves have beendiscovered,” Siem added. “This is an opportunity for us to realizegood value for the asset. We can re-deploy a portion of the saleproceeds to other niche pipeline opportunities in the Gulf.”

The various owners of the Black Marlin Pipeline System, a75-mile long natural gas and condensate gathering system in theGulf of Mexico, have sold the line to Williams Field Services for$9.25 million. The line was purchased from Blue Dolphin Energy, a50% owner, MCNIC Pipeline & Processing Co., a 33.33% owner, andWBI Holdings, Inc., a 16.67% owner. The sale includes related shorefacilities servicing the High Island area.

The Department of Transportation’s Office of Pipeline Safety(OPS) has issued an industry-wide bulletin advising operators andowners of gas transmission pipelines to review their monitoringprograms and operations for detecting the presence of internalcorrosion on their systems.

FERC’s marketing affiliate rule, which hinges on the hope thatpipeline owners will police themselves, has been about as effectiveas a wolf guarding a henhouse, says a Washington D.C. lawyer whorepresents producers and independent marketers. Because ofescalating abuses in the market, he believes overhauling Order 497should be the first priority of the Commission in its post-Order637 dialogue with the natural gas industry.

Aiming at easing the personal pain involved in the oil and gasindustry downturn, the Texas Independent Producers &amp RoyaltyOwners Association (TIPRO) has instituted an Oil and Gas Job Bankat its website www.energyconnect.com.

With San Juan Basin-Southern California border (bidweek) basisaveraging double what it was last year through November-36cents/MMBtu compared with 18 cents-and rising, Dynegy’s $70 milliondeal for 1.3 Bcf/d of El Paso Natural Gas’ firm pipeline capacityis looking better all the time for the company, Dynegy PresidentStephen Bergstrom said in an interview with NGI.