Pipelines

TransCanada PipeLines reached a five-year settlement with shippers that will result in a proposed C7.5-cent/Gj increase in Eastern Zone tolls for 2007 to C$1.02/Gj from the 2006 level of C94.5 cents/Gj and will give the pipeline several operational performance incentives. The agreement also covers tolls and costs for years 2008-2011 on the Canadian Mainline.

TransCanada PipeLines said Monday it reached a five-year settlement with shippers that will result in a proposed C7.5-cent/Gj increase in Eastern Zone tolls for 2007 to C$1.02/Gj from the 2006 level of C94.5 cents/Gj and will give the pipeline several operational performance incentives. The agreement also covers tolls and costs for years 2008-2011 on the Canadian Mainline.

In advance of an expected liquefied natural gas surge, Sempra Pipelines & Storage and ProLiance Transportation and Storage LLC last week launched an open season to solicit market interest in expansion capacity at their Liberty Gas Storage LLC facility in Calcasieu Parish, LA. Bids will be taken until March 2.

Despite new bouts of colder weather approaching in some areas and pipelines reintroducing OFO-like actions or pleading for shippers to stay in balance, prices softened Monday at a large majority of points. Strong increases at New England citygates (handily topped by Iroquois Zone 2’s $2.75 gain) and smaller ones at a couple of other scattered points ran against the grain of overall declines ranging from about a nickel to 40 cents.

Citing the need to schedule operations to meet all customer requirements during cold weather, affiliated pipelines Trunkline and Panhandle Eastern issued similar Operational Alerts Wednesday that will be in effect until further notice. Panhandle said hourly deliveries under Rate Schedules EFT, EIT and SCT will be limited during any hour of the gas day to 1/16th of the total daily volume nominated at the delivery point. In addition, Rate Schedules FT and IT limit flow during any hour to 1/24th of the daily nominated volume. Trunkline applied the 1/16th limit to customers under Rate Schedule EFT and the 1/24th limit to customers under Rate Schedules FT, SST, QNT and IT.

Canada’s energy industry is on the cusp of a potentially lucrative future, but “massive” investments in new energy supply, pipelines, electricity transmission infrastructure and renewable technologies are needed to overcome looming challenges, The Conference Board of Canada reported last week.

Canada’s energy industry is on the cusp of a potentially lucrative future, but “massive” investments in new energy supply, pipelines, electricity transmission infrastructure and renewable technologies are needed to overcome looming challenges, The Conference Board of Canada reported on Monday.

Three pipelines ended on Saturday OFO-like constraints that had been implemented two days earlier. They were MRT and its System Protection Warning; East Tennessee Natural Gas and its secondary restrictions along with Maximum Allowable Delivery (MAD) service; and Southern Natural Gas and its Type 6 OFO for short imbalances.

Reform of the three-decades-old Endangered Species Act (ESA), which has proved to be a major headache for oil and natural gas producers and pipelines over the years, faces an uncertain future in a Democratic Congress, but some proponents remain upbeat.