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Williams’ field services unit has agreed to process 300 MMcf/dof gas for Exxon Company USA at its gas liquids extraction plant tobe built near Coden, AL. The deal is the largest processingcontract to date for the field services unit. The NGL extractionplant is expected to be in service by the first quarter of nextyear and will have 600 MMcf/d of inlet capacity. The Exxon gasrepresents dedicated production from multiple leases in the MobileBay area. Remaining plant capacity will be filled through theexpansion of the Transco Mobile Bay Lateral as well as other gasproduction currently flowing on the existing Transco pipeline. Aspokeswoman said the company expects to sign five or six morecontracts to handle gas at the new plant, which is expandable up toat least 900 MMcf/d.

California State University (CSU) and the University ofCalifornia (UC) signed up with Enron Energy Services (EES) forpower to serve all 22 CSI campuses and all nine UC campuses andother facilities. The deal is the largest direct-access electricenergy contract in the country, Enron said. The two institutionsare projected to save more than $15 million over the next fouryears.

Natural gas producers scored a victory Wednesday when FERC ruledthey could post surety bonds in lieu of multi-million dollarrefunds to customers that fast coming due on March 9th. The bondmethod guarantees that customers will receive their refundpayments, and it gives producers what they seek most – a delay inpaying out the amounts until disputes over the refunds calculationsare resolved. The downside of this option is that producers will berequired to continue paying interest on the refund principal aslong as the bond remains in effect. Producers also have thealternative of paying their refund amounts into escrow accounts.

FERC approved the divestiture-sale of most of the non-nucleargeneration assets of New England Power Co. (NEPCO) and NarragansettElectric Co. to USGen New England Inc., an unregulated subsidiaryof PG&E Corp.

More than 250 commercial gas customers in the District ofColumbia will soon have the opportunity to choose a gas supplierother than Washington Gas. The District of Columbia Public ServiceCommission (PSC) approved the company’s request to offer choice inthe District to large commercial customers who use at least 60,000therms/year and who do not maintain an alternate to gas service.(60,000 therms is about 60 times what the average residentialheating customer uses annually.) Large interruptible customers whouse more than 250,000 therms annually have had supplier choicesince 1988.

A group of natural gas producers and marketers has asked FERC toextend until July 9th the deadline for producer payments of anestimated $500 million in customer refunds. The refunds, which aredue March 9th, are owed to customers who purchased gas produced inKansas during the 1980s at costs that, because they included thestate’s ad valorem tax, exceeded the level allowed under theNatural Gas Policy Act (NGPA).

February prices were flat to a little higher Monday, sourcesreported. One said buyers thought they would be able to knockprices down, “but you couldn’t.” There is plenty of demand and it’svirtually all storage-related, he went on. “All of a sudden we’reseeing February turn into an injection month,” and that’s what iskeeping demand high, he said

CNG Energy Services of Pittsburgh signed a three-year contractwith Ormet Corp., one the nation’s largest aluminum producers andsuppliers of aluminum products, to provide gas management servicefor eight Ormet facilities in the United States. The facilitiesconsume about 12 Bcf/year

Williams opened the doors to its new 300-position,21,000-square-foot energy trading floor, which it says featurestechnology, design and amenities surpassing those of most companiesin the nation. The trading floor is part of a new236,000-square-foot resource center adjacent to the 50-floorWilliams Tower in Tulsa, OK, where Williams has its corporateheadquarters. “As the second most profitable energy marketer in thenation, we remain committed to our customers by providing ourtraders with the absolute best tools available to compete andsucceed,” said Jerry Gollnick, senior vice president of energymarketing and trading for Williams.