Problems

Belen Station became unavailable Wednesday morning due to surge control valve problems, El Paso said, adding that parts are being shipped in and if all goes well, the station will be returned to service Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, Belen’s outage has changed a capacity reduction of the San Juan Crossover from 29 MMcf/d to 75 MMcf/d through Friday.

Tennessee indicated that repairs to correct problems caused by liquids entering Station 823 may be proceeding faster than expected. Barring any unexpected issues, Tennessee said Friday, it anticipated that the work would be complete in two to three days; on Wednesday it had estimated “five to 10 days” (see Daily GPI, April 19). As a result, the pipeline saw a good chance of restrictions through Station 823 being lifted by the end of the weekend. Tennessee said that as an alternative, it had analyzed the possibility of activating the Seahawk meter. “However, after further investigation, Tennessee has determined that opening the Seahawk meter is not a viable option due to a lack of flow control in the area. Without flow control, the possibility of free flowing liquids into Tennessee’s system at Grand Chenier and Kinder is too great a risk.” In an effort to assist customers in moving their gas off the Tennessee system, it was offering discounts at six meters and said “any other mutually agreeable meters upstream of Station 823” could be used.

Southern California Gas did not extend a high-linepack OFO beyond Wednesday.

The operator at the Lost Creek receipt points on CIG and WIC has reported operational problems that will preclude gas flow at those locations for the next two to three days, according to a CIG bulletin board posting late Tuesday afternoon. “Therefore, no gas will be scheduled at these locations until the operator has recommenced service to CIG and WIC,” the posting said. “Shippers should not use these locations for their gas supply requirements during this period.”

Pepco Energy Services Inc. has asked FERC to conduct an investigation into the “serious problems” that allegedly occurred during a November capacity auction by Columbia Gas Transmission, which it said ultimately led to the rejection of valid bids made by Pepco and capacity being awarded to another shipper.

Pepco Energy Services Inc. has called on FERC to conduct an investigation into the “serious problems” that allegedly occurred during a November capacity auction by Columbia Gas Transmission, which it said ultimately led to the rejection of valid bids made by Pepco and capacity being awarded to another shipper.

Thousands of residents in Buffalo, MN, were without natural gas service Thursday after problems with repair and maintenance work on CenterPoint Energy’s utility gas lines. Officials said it could be two days before the service is restored, the Associated Press reported. CenterPoint representatives did not respond to calls from NGI Thursday afternoon. About 200 CenterPoint Energy crews were working to restore the service, preparing to go to each home to turn gas meters back on and help relight pilot lights, local police told the Associated Press. About 5,500 residents were affected. City officials said the gas could be out for 48 hours or more, which is a concern because snow is in the forecast and overnight lows Thursday, Friday and Saturday are expected to be in the mid 20s. Plans were being prepared to house residents, particularly those in extended care facilities, who might need a warm location for the night.

Beset by safety problems and still recovering from last year’s Gulf of Mexico storms, BP plc reported in an interim update Wednesday that its 3Q2006 oil and natural gas production year-over-year will be flat and will fall sequentially from 2Q2006 to 3.8 million boe/d from 4.01 million boe/d. Houston-based Marathon Oil Corp., meanwhile, said its quarterly production is in line with forecasts.

Beset by safety problems and still recovering from last year’s Gulf of Mexico storms, BP plc reported in an interim update Wednesday that its 3Q2006 oil and natural gas production year-over-year will be flat and will fall sequentially from 2Q2006 to 3.8 million boe/d from 4.01 million boe/d.