Representing

Five associations representing major shippers of natural gas have called on FERC to issue a generic order requiring pipelines to amend their tariffs to comply with the Commission’s policy on the crediting of reservation charges during service outages — both planned and unplanned.

Average net production in the Appalachian business unit of Atlas Energy Inc. hit a record 63.3 MMcfe/d in 3Q2010, representing a 53%-plus increase in output year/year and a 15.4% jump from the previous three months, the Pittsburgh-based producer said Wednesday.

While a California congresswoman from the San Bruno, CA, area was proposing legislation addressing safety and transparency for natural gas transmission pipelines, U.S. senators representing the state last Tuesday speculated that the natural gas pipeline explosion last month would have been far less of a disaster if the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) line had automatic shutoff valves.

U.S. senators representing California Tuesday said they believe the pipeline explosion in San Bruno, CA, earlier this month would have been far less of a disaster if the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) line had automatic shutoff valves.

As work continues to battle the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Democratic lawmakers representing coastal states have introduced legislation that would raise the cap on an oil producer’s liability for economic damages from a spill to $10 billion from the current $75 million (see Daily GPI, May 4).

Six Senate Democrats representing coastal states introduced legislation Tuesday to repeal the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), which gave FERC the authority to determine the need for and location of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals.

Six Senate Democrats representing coastal states introduced legislation Tuesday to repeal the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), which gave FERC the authority to determine the need for and location of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals.

Plains All American Pipeline LP intends to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) of common units representing limited partner interests of PAA Natural Gas Storage LP (PNGS), a master limited partnership (MLP) subsidiary to be formed to own and operate its gas storage assets and business. Plains said it expects that a registration statement for IPO will be filed during the first quarter. Plains will own the 2% general partner interest and incentive distribution rights of PNGS and expects to retain “a substantial portion” of the MLP’s common and subordinated units. Plains anticipates using the proceeds of the IPO to repay debt and for general purposes.

Three associations representing electric and natural gas utilities and power providers have called on Congress to exempt end-users from having to clear over-the-counter (OTC) derivative transactions that are used to hedge against commodity price risk. While supporting the clearing of derivative transactions involving large dealers in OTC legislation being considered by Congress, they said they opposed any mandate requiring “all or most” OTC derivative transactions to be centrally cleared or traded on regulated exchanges, saying this ultimately would increase prices to retail gas and electric customers.