Portland

Oregon regulators on Thursday approved an all-parties settlement for Portland, OR-based NW Natural, allowing the natural gas distribution utility to proceed with its joint venture to develop gas reserves with a U.S. subsidiary of Calgary-based Encana Corp. (see Daily GPI, April 21).

Portland, OR-based NW Natural announced late Tuesday that it has reached an all-parties settlement on a previously announced joint venture to develop natural gas reserves with a U.S. subsidiary of Canadian-based Encana Corp. (see Daily GPI, Feb. 28). The settlement must be approved by the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC), and the parties are seeking an OK by May 1.

A seemingly on- and off-again project to build a new interstate pipeline connection for the Portland, OR, metropolitan area is currently very much on and eyeing market and regulatory milestones in the first half of this year, according to senior executives at NW Natural.

A seemingly on- and off-again project to build a new interstate pipeline connection for the Portland, OR, metropolitan area is currently very much on and eyeing market and regulatory milestones in the first half of this year, according to senior executives at NW Natural.

Portland, OR-based NW Natural said Friday it has signed a $250 million deal with a unit of Calgary-based Encana Corp. for the joint venture development of natural gas reserves in Wyoming. The gas-only utility said it expects the deal to provide long-term supplies for the vast majority of its 674,000 customers in western Oregon. Its customers in southwest Washington state will not be involved.

Portland, OR-based Northwest Natural Gas Co. filed Thursday for rate changes with regulators in Oregon and Washington state.

A Portland, OR-based environmental group is seeking to stop construction of El Paso Corp.’s Ruby Pipeline on the grounds that it would “cut across some of the most pristine and remote lands in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and Oregon.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit last Tuesday dismissed a complaint by six shippers on the TransCanada-connected Portland Natural Gas Transmission System (PNGTS) in New England, noting that they can seek a remedy through FERC’s rate-setting processes. The court action is related to lawsuits filed after the pipeline slashed its capacity by 20% in the aftermath of two other shippers filing for bankruptcy four or five years ago.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on Tuesday dismissed a complaint by six shippers on the TransCanada-connected Portland Natural Gas Transmission System (PNGTS) in New England, noting that they can seek a remedy through FERC’s rate-setting processes. The court action is related to lawsuits filed after the pipeline slashed its capacity by 20% in the aftermath of two other shippers filing for bankruptcy four or five years ago.