February prices were flat to a little higher Monday, sourcesreported. One said buyers thought they would be able to knockprices down, “but you couldn’t.” There is plenty of demand and it’svirtually all storage-related, he went on. “All of a sudden we’reseeing February turn into an injection month,” and that’s what iskeeping demand high, he said
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BC Gas Development Fast Approaching Albert
For now, Nova Gas Transmission continues to handle about 80%(4.5 Tcf in 1997, or 12.3 Bcf/d) of Canadian gas on its provincialgathering grid because Alberta remains both the biggest producerand center of growth in output. But expectations of serious growthin British Columbia showed clearly when the National Energy Boardvisited the province’s resource development frontier of Fort St.John for regional hearings on the Alliance Pipeline Project
Enova-PE Merger Set to Cross Critical Junctur
An important juncture in the proposed $5 billion merger ofPacific Enterprises and Enova Corp. is expected this week when anadministrative law judge with the California Public UtilitiesCommission recommends a proposed decision to the five-memberregulatory body. The CPUC is then expected to act by the end ofMarch. No one is expecting the proposed decision or the ultimatefinal one by the state to turn down the marriage of the holdingcompanies for Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas andElectric Co., but it is unclear whether the conditions placed onthe deal will make it financially unattractive for one or both ofthe companies
CNG Wins Gas Management Dea
CNG Energy Services of Pittsburgh signed a three-year contractwith Ormet Corp., one the nation’s largest aluminum producers andsuppliers of aluminum products, to provide gas management servicefor eight Ormet facilities in the United States. The facilitiesconsume about 12 Bcf/year
Judge Rules Against Producers in Royalty Cas
In a “Freddie Krueger-style” wipeout, a federal district courton Friday the 13th dealt a crippling blow to a major producergroup and two producers when it denied their motions dealing withroyalty treatment of take-or-pay settlement payments. U.S. DistrictCourt Judge Royce Lamberth upheld his earlier ruling that theIndependent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) lackedjurisdiction in a lawsuit challenging the Interior Department’scollection of royalties on lump-sum payments made by producers toget out of their gas contracts with pipelines. The IPAA lawsuit ledto a 1996 ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in favor ofgas producers
PNGTS Extension Gets An NEB Nod
The upstream Canadian portion of the Portland Natural GasTransmission Project – the PNGTS Extension, which will link theU.S. pipeline with TransCanada PipeLines via an extension of theTrans Qu‚bec & Maritimes — received a favorable environmentalreview from Canada’s National Energy Board. The NEB concluded the132-mile extension is “not likely to cause significant adverseenvironmental effects, provided that the mitigative measuresidentified during the public hearing are implemented and enforced.”The NEB submitted its Comprehensive Study Report on the project tothe federal Minister of Environment and to the CanadianEnvironmental Assessment Agency last week
Industry Brief
The National Energy Board has started preparing a reportentitled Canadian Energy Supply and Demand 1998-2025, which isscheduled to be published in 1999. It will provide an analysis ofenergy trends, issues and developments impacting Canada over thenext quarter century. The Board will be taking public comments toobtain the views of interested parties. Written comments or papersmust be received no later than May 12. The first round of publicconsultations will take place in informal workshops in April invarious cities across the country. The Board has identified thefollowing tentative dates and locations for these publicconsultations: Calgary (April 8), Toronto (April 15), Montreal(April 17), Halifax (April 20), Ottawa (April 22) and Vancouver(April 28). Specific dates and locations will be finalizedfollowing the receipt of responses by interested parties. Fordetails see NEB’s website at www.neb.gc.ca/home.htm, or contactLorna Patterson at (403) 299-3987. Registration to participate inpublic discussion groups must be received no later than March 20
San Juan Prices Hit Hardest in General Softening
Cash prices for the weekend were down almost across the boardFriday, succumbing to mild weather and lower weekend demand.However, noting the late rebound in the Henry Hub futures contract,a marketer thinks that set the stage for a modest rally in cashnumbers today. He looks for Midcontinent pipes to move back up intothe low $2.10s.
March Futures Go Into Weekend Below $2.20
The March Nymex futures contract fell another 1.9 cents to$2.198 Friday, as traders continued the falloff in prices theystarted on Thursday. “This was not a case of traders gunning forstops, where they try to push the contract under support hoping thecontract will fall even more. This was simply an extension ofThursday,” a broker said.
FERC Examines Procedures
Fearing that it might be growing dusty and staid, FERC earlierthis month kicked off a three-month, all-encompassing review of itsprocedures and processes “to try and keep current with the times,including a very changing energy marketplace that we regulate,”Chairman James Hoecker said.