Restore

It took longer to accomplish than previously expected (see Daily GPI, Jan. 16), but Westcoast was able to restore processing capacity at its McMahon Gas Plant near Fort St. John, BC, to its normal 630 MMcf/d around mid-afternoon Wednesday. The capacity had been cut by about a third Tuesday due to excessive foaming of a monoethanol amine (MEA) treatment solution causing a shutdown of processing train #3.

The market was “kind of back to normal,” as one trader expressed it, Wednesday following the fundamentals-defying firmness of the previous day. Bowing to the unseasonably mild temperatures dominating all regions (Florida remained something of an exception), prices fell by about a dime or less at a majority of points.

With the failure of the state to agree on a rescue plan to restore Southern California Edison’s financial viability, rumors last week grew louder that three of the major generators who are creditors would take the utility into involuntary bankruptcy.

As El Paso Natural Gas worked to restore one of three pipes inits 1 Bcf/d South Mainline system, possibly by today, the NationalTransportation Safety Board (NTSB), investigating Saturday’sexplosion in one of those lines, said they found corrosion and athinning of the pipeline wall in a 22-foot section that broke offin the blast.

The three largest gas utilities in western Pennsylvania(Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, Equitable Gas and Peoples Gas) urgedcustomers to press Congress to restore full funding to the LowIncome Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The three gascompanies began a letter writing campaign on behalf of customers,consumer groups and social service agencies. Elimination of LIHEAPwould impact thousands of customers in Pennsylvania, the utilitiessaid. Nearly 350,000 Pennsylvania families benefit from theprogram. The LIHEAP grant is applied directly to heating bills.Eligibility is based on family income and the number of householdmembers. LIHEAP, a federally-funded program, has been around fortwo decades, but its future was thrown into doubt last month whenthe House Appropriations Committee voted to eliminate the programin fiscal 1999, saving $1.1 billion. President Clinton hadrequested $1.4 billion for LIHEAP in his 1999 budget. Members ofthe U.S. House of Representatives will have another opportunity toconsider LIHEAP funding later this month.

As of Friday Sea Robin expected to restore flow Saturday (Feb.21) on its 16-inch West Cameron 580 lateral, pending favorableweather conditions. The force majeure implemented Jan. 27 whenrepairs on a leak began (see Daily GPI, Jan. 29) was to be releasedwhen the lateral was declared in service, Sea Robin said.

Depending on favorable Gulf of Mexico weather, Sea Robin expectsto restore flows on its 16-inch West Cameron 580 lateral by Sunday(see Daily GPI, Feb. 3). The force majeure that was implementedJan. 27 because of a leak will remain in effect until repairs havebeen completed.