Recovery

Continuing in its effort to find a way to develop stranded natural gas economically, Conoco has taken a major step toward commercializing its proprietary technology for converting natural gas to liquids with the delivery and installation of the first production modules at the company’s gas-to-liquids (GTL) demonstration plant under construction in Ponca City, OK.

Continuing in its effort to find a way to develop stranded natural gas economically, Conoco on Monday said it has taken a major step towards commercializing its proprietary technology for converting natural gas to liquids with the delivery and installation of the first production modules at the company’s gas-to-liquids (GTL) demonstration plant under construction in Ponca City, OK.

Economic recovery and lower energy prices are expected in the future, but energy industry executives also have a high concern for the security of oil and natural gas supplies, according to a survey conducted last week at Andersen’s 22nd Annual Energy Symposium in Houston.

Economic recovery and lower energy prices are expected in the future, but energy industry executives also have a high concern for the security of oil and natural gas supplies, according to a survey conducted this week at Andersen’s 22nd Annual Energy Symposium in Houston.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) has voted 2-to-1 to prevent the state’s largest utility, Oklahoma Natural Gas Co. (ONG), from collecting unrecovered gas costs associated with last winter’s costs. The vote will prevent ONG, which had already begun to collect the costs, to stop collecting an estimated $45 million in total costs from customers beginning Dec. 1, but the commission did not vote to give customers any refunds. ONG said it may appeal.

A BP team of more than 100 employees and contractors was making “significant progress” on recovery operations at its Fort Saskatchewan Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) storage facility that caught fire in an early morning explosion Aug. 26 (see Daily GPI, Aug. 28). The facility is located about four miles northeast of Fort Saskatchewan, AB.

While voicing continuing support for the state’s electricity recovery plan and the specific deal to sell San Diego’s utility transmission assets, Sempra Energy’s CEO last Thursday advocated more political reality and attention to expanding U.S. natural gas infrastructure in outlining his current views on California’s electricity crisis to business leaders attending a joint forecast of the economic impact from the power woes by UCLA’s Anderson School of Business and Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA).

City officials in Hutchinson, KS have moved into an”investigation and recovery stage” after a suspected leakingnatural gas storage cavern caused two explosions last week,leveling businesses and killing one man and injuring his wife. Thecavern was sealed Monday and now experts are trying to determinehow to vent a huge gas bubble still spewing through geysers allover town.

Continued uncertainty surrounding the recovery of record highwholesale prices for electricity prompted the Fitch rating serviceTuesday to lower its rating outlook from “stable to negative” forCalifornia’s three major investor-owned electric utilities. Themove came in the midst of another week of late summer heatthroughout the state that is pushing up power prices and squeezingsupplies.