Perform

Florida Gas Transmission ended Saturday an Overage Alert Day that had been in effect continuously since July 8.

Williams Field Services (WFS) will perform emergency maintenance Thursday on the Turbo Expander Plant 5 unit at Opal Plant to remove a freeze in the gas-to-gas exchanger, according to a posting on the Kern River bulletin board. Estimated impact will be 90 MMcf for Thursday’s gas day, WFS said. Barring unforeseen delays, nominations can return to pre-maintenance levels beginning Friday, it added.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has added to its roster of natural gas over-the-counter contracts it is investigating to determine if they perform a significant price-discovery function and qualify for CFTC restrictions.

Florida Gas Transmission did not extend an Overage Alert Day beyond Tuesday.

Effective with the start of Thursday’s gas day, MRT is lifting the System Protection Warning that was implemented last Saturday.

Southern California Gas did not extend a high-linepack OFO beyond Friday.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) is partnering with Questar Corp. to perform research on greater sage grouse habitat in northwest Colorado and south-central Wyoming. The research is intended to identify ways to minimize energy development impacts on grouse habitat, which has been in decline for years. The bird, whose habitat stretches across the western states, is being considered for listing as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, which also would impact energy development across the West (see Daily GPI, Dec. 6, 2007). The partnership will build on research conducted since 2005 by DOW and the University of Idaho. Salt Lake City-based Questar, which focuses its gas exploration efforts in the Rocky Mountains, will fund the partnership for an undisclosed amount.

FERC has approved Chestnut Ridge Storage LLC’s request for an exemption from the certificate requirements of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) to drill two test wells and perform other activities to determine the feasibility of developing a natural gas storage project in a storage field in southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia.

FERC Friday approved Chestnut Ridge Storage LLC’s request for an exemption from the certificate requirements of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) to drill two test wells and perform other activities to determine the feasibility of developing a natural gas storage project in a storage field in southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia.