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Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline said it signed a contractwith Enbridge Gas New Brunswick to jointly build a number offacilities required to serve the local distribution system in theprovince. Maritimes hopes to construct the facilities this year,depending on construction timelines and regulatory approvals. Itplans to apply soon for authorization from the National EnergyBoard to construct the seven custody transfer stations and the twosections of transmission pipeline. Maritimes will conduct a seriesof open houses in New Brunswick prior to submitting applications tothe National Energy Board. Meanwhile clearing activities continueon the Halifax Lateral Pipeline project. More than 80% of theclearing has been completed.

Exxon Mobil satisfied another condition required by the FederalTrade Commission in its approval of the merger of the two companiesby selling Mobil Alaska Pipeline’s 3% interest in the Trans AlaskaPipeline System to a unit of The Williams Companies, Inc. Terms ofthe sale were not disclosed. ExxonMobil Pipeline will retain its20% interest in the 800-mile pipeline system, which transports onemillion barrels per day of crude oil from Prudhoe Bay on thestate’s North Slope to the Port of Valdez in the south. The stakeadds to Williams’ presence in Alaska, which currently includes apetroleum refinery in North Pole that receives crude oil from theTrans Alaska Pipeline System, a distribution terminal at the Portof Anchorage, 28 retail petroleum convenience stores and aninterest in an air cargo transfer facility at AnchorageInternational Airport.

BP Amoco and Atlantic Richfield Co. plan to take the next formalstep to close their merger by restarting the required 20-day noticeperiod, suspended Nov. 2, to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).The companies concede the FTC has concerns about their pairing, butthe merger partners said they don’t agree with the issues raised bythe commission.

FERC last week rejected Koch Gateway Pipeline’s proposed tariffrevision that would have required its shippers to obtain itsapproval before nominating out of balance. Koch sought the changeto remedy imbalances on its system, but the Commission said itcouldn’t approve it “absent clear evidence” of “real operationalproblems.”

FERC last week rejected Koch Gateway Pipeline’s proposed tariffrevision that would have required its shippers to obtain itsapproval before nominating out of balance. Koch sought the changeto remedy imbalances on its system, but the Commission said itcouldn’t approve it “absent clear evidence” of “real operationalproblems.”

April 26-30 turbine modification at Transwestern’s BloomfieldStation on the San Juan Lateral will cut 25,000 MMBtu/d of Ignacio(CO) to Blanco (NM) capacity.

Westcoast Energy said its St. Clair Pipelines subsidiary filedthe last major component required for the Millennium Pipelineproject yesterday with the National Energy Board in Canada. Thecompany filed an application for a $165 million pipeline that wouldlink Union Gas’ Dawn Hub in Ontario to lake crossing facilities tobe built by TransCanada. TransCanada filed an application for thelake crossing facilities earlier this week. St. Clair’s 50-mileMillennium West Pipeline would deliver about 700 MMcf/d of gas toPatrick Point on the shores of Lake Erie.

Gas marketers said last week a preliminary unbundling ruling bythe Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) allowsthe state’s local distribution utilities to erect “insurmountablebarriers to entry” into the retail gas market and will snuff outwhat little competition exists today.