Project

The nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) last Tuesday formally petitioned the U.S. Justice Department to open a criminal investigation of American Electric Power (AEP) for what EIP said appear to be “extensive violations” of the Clean Air Act taking place over multiple years, citing allegations made by a former AEP employee.

With normal cooling degree and heating degree days in the third and fourth quarters, Stephen Smith Energy Associates estimated in its latest Monthly Energy Outlook that third quarter Henry Hub natural gas prices will average $5.82/Mcf and fourth quarter prices will be $5.62, yielding an average annual forecast of $5.80 for 2004. If the estimate holds, gas prices would average 40 cents higher than in 2003, but would be well below the $6.20 average set by Energy and Environmental Analysis Inc. (EEA) consultants last week (see related story).

FERC has approved a request of Ingleside Energy Center LLC, an affiliate of Occidental Petroleum Corp., to have its proposal to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal on the Texas Gulf Coast considered under the agency’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) pre-filing process.

Mild weather, lower trading profits and ongoing operational problems at the new Magnolia gas storage project in Southern Louisiana led Entergy Corp. to predict lower than expected first quarter earnings last week.

Mild weather, lower trading profits and ongoing operational problems at the new Magnolia gas storage project in Southern Louisiana led Entergy Corp. to predict lower than expected first quarter earnings on Monday.

Devon Energy has agreed to sell its Cherokee coalbed methane project in the Anadarko Basin in southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma to Oklahoma City-based Quest Resource Corp. for $126 million, which Devon said is approximately equal to its net investment in the assets. The deals is expected to close next week.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is taking another look at the potential safety and security risks of liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker transportation in an attempt to reconcile three reports that reached conflicting conclusions. At the same time, the proposed siting of an ExxonMobil Corp. LNG terminal just south of the city limits of Mobile, AL, has stirred controversy over safety/security hazards there.

The completion date for a complete pigging of Matagorda Offshore Pipeline System has been extended through Tuesday; the project was originally scheduled to finish Sunday (see Daily GPI, Nov. 13).

FERC issued a certificate Thursday to Dominion Cove Point LNG LP for its proposed Cove Point East Project, which will include two new compressor stations with 19,340 horsepower in Loudoun and Fairfax counties, VA.