Planned

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) hasannounced that the OCS Lease Sale 178 planned for the central Gulfof Mexico will offer producers a mix of incentives to encourageultra-deep-water exploration and development for both natural gasand crude oil.

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) hasannounced that the OCS Lease Sale 178 planned for the central Gulfof Mexico will offer producers a mix of incentives to encourageultra-deep-water exploration and development for both natural gasand crude oil.

A Virginia State Corporation Commission hearing examiner hasrecommended that the planned merger between NUI Corp. and theVirginia Gas Co. include a condition that may affect the locationof an intrastate gas pipeline near Roanoke. The merger and proposedconditions require SCC approval and the commission must act byMarch 27.

A new round of expansion is getting under way in the buddingnatural gas industry in eastern Canada, starting with constructionof the last missing link in the country’s transcontinental pipelinegrid. Longer range, there are possibilities of a new majorpipeline to transport Atlantic Canada production to major markets.

A new round of expansion is getting under way in the buddingnatural gas industry in eastern Canada, starting with constructionof the last missing link in the country’s transcontinental pipelinegrid. Longer range, there are possibilities of a new majorpipeline to transport Atlantic Canada production to major markets.

In a planned move to dump its mature shelf properties andconcentrate on new exploration opportunities, EEX Corp. is sellingits interests in nearly 100 offshore lease blocks in the shallowerwaters of the Gulf of Mexico to an undisclosed buyer for $60million. The properties contain estimated proved reserves of 58Bcfe, of which 33% are proved producing, as of Oct. 1.

Effective Saturday (Dec. 9) Northwest planned to move from itsthen-current Stage II (8%) Entitlement for delivery points north ofKemmerer (WY) Station to a Stage 1 (3%) Entitlement. Northwest saidit was taking the action to insure operational integrity “giventhat the system has been drafted for the last two days andextremely cold weather is predicted for most of Northwest’smarkets.”

Sonat said it planned to implement an OFO Type 3 for sevendelivery groups Sunday and was anticipating it would beallocating/limiting interruptible capacity for the ChattanoogaGroup and North Alabama Group until further notice. Based onweather forecasts and projected demand, it is likely that the OFOand allocations will remain in effect through at least the end oftoday’s gas day, the pipeline said Friday. Nine groups on Sonat’sSouth Georgia system became subject to an OFO Type 22 Sunday.

Kern River Gas Transmission, a subsidiary of Williams, said itplanned on filing an application yesterday with FERC to add 124,500Dth/d of additional firm transportation capacity to its 922-milepipeline system. The company said the California Expansion Projectwill not only provide additional natural gas capacity from Wyomingto markets in California, but also will provide an opportunity forWilliams to offer significantly reduced rates for firmtransportation based on the recent approval by FERC of Kern River’sExtended Term Rate Program.