Pipes

All three major Gulf Coast/Northeast interstate pipes —Tennesseee, Texas Eastern (Tetco) and Transco — issued shipperwarnings Thursday about receipts into their systems laggingconsiderably behind market-area deliveries. Tennessee issued aBalancing Alert OFO, effective today until further notice, to 39shippers (applying to more than one contract in some cases). A penaltyof $15/Dth “plus the applicable regional daily spot price” toovertakes from delivery meters or underdeliveries at receipt pointsthat exceed 2% or 500 Dth, whichever is greater, of scheduledquantities. Tennessee also is reducing today its normal SupplyAggregation (SA) contract imbalance tolerance of 1,000 dekatherms to500 dekatherms across all supply area pools. The tolerance for marketarea pools remains at zero, the pipeline said. Tetco said allpreviously announced restrictions (see Daily GPI, Dec. 21) would remain in effect untilfurther notice and added two more that take effect today: all IT-1volumes, including backhauls, received or delivered in the Access Areawill not be scheduled; and no nominations for interruptible orsecondary service will be accepted at the Oakford, Leidy andLambertville points. Transco cut the 4% tolerance currently allowed atits pooling points to 1% or 1,000 Dth, whichever is greater, fornegative imbalances. Shippers with positively scheduled poolimbalances will continue to be held to the 4% tolerance level. Transcoadded that it may proactively decrease markets to bring them in linewith supplies at pooling points.

Although a proposed rulemaking process to beef up safety inspections of natural gas pipelines isn’t expected to get under way until early 2001, a Duke Energy executive says the Department of Transportation’s Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) already has taken it upon itself to step up its oversight of interstate gas lines.

Although the proposed rulemaking process to beef up safetyinspections of natural gas pipelines isn’t expected to get underwayuntil early 2001, a Duke Energy executive says the Department ofTransportation’s Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) already has begunto step up its oversight of interstate gas lines.

With energy prices rising at an alarming rate, there’s no bettertime than the present to launch expansion projects for gas pipelineinfrastructure. Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline and AlgonquinGas Transmission did just that last week, filing applications withthe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build related pipelineextensions designed to bring Sable Island gas to the greater Bostonarea, including a couple new power plants.

The explosion and fire on El Paso Natural Gas’ system insoutheast New Mexico in August, which killed 12 people, underscoresthe need for a newer gas pipeline infrastructure in the UnitedStates, according to a Department of Energy (DOE) report releasedlast week.

The explosion and fire on El Paso Natural Gas’ system insoutheast New Mexico in August, which killed 12 people, underscoresthe need for a newer gas pipeline infrastructure in the UnitedStates, according to a Department of Energy (DOE) report releasedthis week.

The U.S. Transportation Department’s Office of Pipeline Safety(OPS) has ordered all three of the pipes comprising El Paso NaturalGas’ 1 Bcf/d South Mainline from Texas to California to remainclosed until extensive tests can be done to ensure they are safe tooperate.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Policy yesterdayrecommended streamlining the federal government’s process forapproving new natural gas storage capacity and pipelines bound forthe Northeast in an attempt to reduce the region’s dependence onheating oil and prevent a recurrence of price spikes.

The Pipeline Research Council International Inc. (PRCI) and itsstrategic technology partner, Houston-based Technical ToolboxesInc. (TTI), announced yesterday they plan to launchPipelineCentral.com, a neutral Internet marketplace that wouldenable suppliers to furnish services and equipment (i.e.compressors and smart pigs) more quickly to interstate natural gasand oil pipelines in the United States and overseas.