Putting

Putting more emphasis its core business, Crystal Oil Co. changedits name recently to Crystal Gas Storage Inc. The company owns andoperates two natural gas storage facilities near Hattiesburg, MSand owns interests in other natural gas properties in Louisiana.

Putting pipeline sponsors at risk for their projects would be a”useful check” against the overbuilding of new capacity into theburgeoning Northeast market, but it’s not a cure-all for all of theissues that accompany such projects, FERC Commissioner WilliamMassey told industrial gas customers last week.

It’s nearly impossible to get the various gas industry sectorsto agree on anything, but some already are putting out signals they might band together to send FERC the clear and unmistakablemessage they don’t like its capacity-auction proposal.

Alliance CEO Dennis Cornelson reiterated yesterday he’s not theslightest bit concerned about upstream gas supply problems puttinga damper on Alliance throughput once the the pipeline isconstructed. “Thinking about that very issue over the years, Ithink that it’s clear that with the higher gas prices that arebeing realized and the relatively low prices for oil at this timethat there will be real focus on natural gas exploration anddevelopment over the next several years.

San Diego Gas and Electric Co. is formally asking for nonbindingexpressions of interest for two fossil-fuel power plants and 17combustion turbines by Sept. 10 as the start of a sales plan forits generation assets for which it expects to gain stateregulators’ approval by that same time. Eventually, it expects tosell nearly 2,000 MW of generating capacity by the end of the year,according to a company spokesperson.

Putting an end to several years of squabbling, Kansas PipelineCo. has acquiesced to FERC jurisdiction but only on the conditionthat the Commission grandfather the existing, state-approved ratesin its contracts until it is ordered to file a Section 4 rate case.