Process

Dallas-based Energy Transfer Co., which is in the process of expanding its Texas gas pipeline system, and TXU Fuel Co. have agreed to jointly market natural gas gathering and transportation services to producers in East Texas for redelivery to markets at the Katy Hub, near Houston. The agreement includes firm pipeline capacity for up to 150 MMcf/d with expansion capability up to 250 MMcf/d.

Tennessee said Monday it was in the process of isolating the section of pipeline following discovery of a leak in the vicinity of South Pass 38. It estimated that repairs would “take a minimum of two weeks.” The South Pass 38, 39, 45 and 47 meters are affected.

The emerging first quarter reports show that overall, oil and natural gas production for many North American independents is setting a record pace. However, analysts looking at the deeper picture believe that while earnings are up and production may hit records, overall domestic production continues a slow slide, and no likely near-term solution is at the ready.

Dynegy Inc.’s CEO said Wednesday that the company had reached a “defining point” in its rebuilding process, after securing a new $1.66 billion bank credit financing package that won’t come due until 2005. The new facility replaces existing loans held by subsidiary Dynegy Holding (DHI), which would have matured over the next two months.

Dynegy Inc.’s CEO said Wednesday that the company had reached a “defining point” in its rebuilding process, after securing a new $1.66 billion bank credit financing package that won’t come due until 2005. The new facility replaces existing loans held by subsidiary Dynegy Holding (DHI), which would have matured over the next two months.

Dynegy Liquids Marketing and Trade has entered into a long-term agreement with Venice Energy Services Co. LLC (VESCO) to provide natural gas liquids (NGL) production with access to additional markets. VESCO, an affiliate of Enterprise Products Partners LP, processes gas production for producers in the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico. The limited partnership includes Enterprise, ChevronTexaco, Dynegy Inc. and Koch Industries.

The goals of deregulation within the U.S. power markets “remain frustratingly elusive,” with more states retreating from the process and regulators pursuing investigations into trading and accounting practices, said Standard & Poor’s in a report released this month. Noting that restructuring was supposed to induce more efficiencies and reduced prices, S&P said widening credit spreads and equity prices have instead sent investors “fleeing” from the sector — and the trend may continue for some time.

Tossing aside arguments by an Arizona regulatory commission representative who came to San Francisco to articulate his state’s case, California regulators Thursday unanimously agreed to adopt proposed rules for mandating that the state’s major gas and electric utilities bid to keep up to 725 MMcf/d of firm capacity on El Paso Natural Gas serving the state to prevent it from being shifted to neighboring Arizona.

The nation’s largest municipal utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), took the first steps toward locking in its 55 Bcf of annual natural gas supplies for the next five years as its oversight board Tuesday gave the municipal utility’s senior management the authority to line up multi-million-dollar supply deals with multiple suppliers. The city council and mayor still have to approve the new authority, but that is expected to happen by the end of next month.