Process

Vastar Resources and Newfield Exploration Co. have selectedWilliams to gather, process and transport nearly 75 MMcf/d ofnatural gas from offshore wells along the Alabama coast. The twoenergy producers are jointly developing reserves in the Gulf ofMexico’s Mobile Bay area, the location where Williams recentlyadded 350 MMcf/d of transportation capacity and a wholly-owned 600MMcf/d processing plant onshore. The Williams plant is located inCoden, AL.

Atlanta Gas Light Co. (AGLC) launched a pilot program inQuitman, GA, to help the city develop and implement a structuredprocess to enhance its 33-mile gas operating system. Quitman, acity of approximately 5,300 in Brooks County near Valdosta insoutheast Georgia, is not served by AGLC. Service, during the testperiod, is scheduled to begin May 1. AGLC will provide operationsmaintenance support, corrosion control, development of a workmanagement plan, and gas accountability. AGLC also will develop andmanage a compliance inspection plan, including an initial corrosionevaluation. AGLC inspected Quitman’s operations in February.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) began thecertification process for the Coastal Corp.’s Gulfstream NaturalGas project, a pipeline from Mobile, AL, across the Gulf of Mexicoand the state of Florida. And in related news, Williams re-filedit’s application for the competing Buccaneer Gas Pipeline. Aprevious Williams filing was rejected without prejudice forinsufficient environmental information.

FERC Chairman James J. Hoecker announced yesterday that staffhas developed new timelines that could reduce the litigation timeby one-third for cases set for hearing before the Commission’sadministrative law judges (ALJ). The new timelines take effectimmediately, and apply to new cases and any pending cases thathaven’t had a procedural schedule set by a presiding judge.

Another round of discussions — and potentially hearings oreven court cases — is on the horizon for the new branch of thenatural gas industry in Atlantic Canada, after regional natives wona legal ruling that they need to be consulted more.

The end of Georgia gas deregulation process is proving to be notonly eventful, but also confusing for customers. On Tuesday (Aug.10), the day before the market share of the 20 gas suppliers was tobe determined, 77,000 gas customers in the state switched fromAtlanta Gas Light (AGL) to one of 20 marketers, for fear of beingplaced on a random assignment list, which actually won’t be made upuntil Monday.

Yankee Gas Services Co. inaugurated its new customer and billingservice this week, completing a process begun in collaboration withIBM two years ago. Yankee said the system will enhance customerservice, improve efficiency and is Y2K ready. The company would notrelease the cost of the new system.

Despite warming temperatures that already had begun the processof melting snows from Monday’s Nor’easter, the futures market wasable to arrest a further meltdown of its own Tuesday as buyers andsellers were evenly matched. In fact, Tuesday’s price action was soorderly, that not only did the market etch an inside day with highsand lows within Monday’s, but also posted an identical $1.717settlement price. And although some bulls were somewhat reluctantto claim the day as a victory, others viewed the market’s abilityto hold ground following the 25-cent price slide since lastWednesday as promising.

PennzEnergy Co. — recently formed when Pennzoil Products Groupwas spun off to merge with Quaker State — is in the process ofreactivating its onshore U.S. operations and tip-toeing deeper intothe Gulf of Mexico. PennzEnergy operations are focused on threeareas: domestic onshore, domestic offshore, and international.Operations are in East and West Texas, on- and offshore Gulf ofMexico, and in Egypt, Azerbaijan, and Venezuela.