Pipelines

Eight natural gas producers and marketers have called on FERC to clarify its rules and policies governing capacity releases on interstate gas pipelines in light of the “more complex and multifaceted” transactions in the market now.

FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher last Thursday warned natural gas pipelines that they could face potential civil penalties if they continue to file late requests at the agency for waivers of their tariffs.

FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher Thursday warned natural gas pipelines that they could face potential civil penalties if they continue to file late requests at the agency for waivers of their tariffs.

After losing more than 30% of its natural gas volumes, or 1.4 Bcf/d of supply on its 500 and 800 pipelines following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGPL) has repaired almost all of its main lines in the Gulf of Mexico and made “significant progress” on other pipeline recovery efforts. Based on the timelines for processing plant availability announced by various operators, Tennessee said it expects to have on-system processing capable of handling about 550,000 Dth/d of flow on the 800 line and up to 800,000 Dth/d of flow on the 500 line by the second half of December.

Record oil and natural gas prices trumped the serious damage inflicted to offshore Gulf of Mexico operations by hurricanes in the third quarter, with ExxonMobil Corp. reporting the highest-ever earnings in corporate history, up 75% from a year ago. Majors Royal Dutch Shell plc and ConocoPhillips, as well as super independents Burlington Resources Inc., Kerr-McGee Corp. and Marathon Oil Co., also were able to overcome extensive offshore hurricane damage to reap massive profits — but there were few production gains.

Gulf Coast gas production barely budged Tuesday, according to scheduled gas flows on the region’s major pipelines, Golden, CO-based consulting firm Bentek Energy reported. Scheduled gas production onshore and offshore Texas and Louisiana was even slightly lower on Tuesday than on Monday — 3,749 MMcf/d compared to 3,888 MMcf/d. That’s down from a pre-Katrina level of 13,820 MMcf/d, Bentek said.

Procurement of natural gas imports for the northeastern United States is changing methods and migrating from Alberta to Ontario, where TransCanada PipeLines will overhaul its eastern end to accommodate the switch.

FERC would be willing to consider requests filed at the Commission for cost recovery in the wake of Hurricane Katrina if such filings are jurisdictional to the federal agency, FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher said last Tuesday.

Overall transportation deaths in the United States fell slightly in 2004, but fatalities caused by pipelines rose significantly, according to preliminary figures released Monday by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).