Restored

Full service on Texas Eastern Transmission’s (Tetco) Penn-Jersey pipeline system, which runs from Delmont, PA, to Lambertville, NJ, might not be restored until November after an April explosion and fire on a portion of the system in Westmoreland County, PA, has its owners concerned about safety.

A Chesapeake Energy Corp. subsidiary on Friday was fined $600,000 and placed on probation for two years after pleading guilty in federal court to violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) in order to build a roadway to a natural gas drilling site in northern West Virginia.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) said Tuesday it has restored all but one of the 17 water withdrawal permits it had temporarily suspended last week following drought conditions in the basin.

Following approval by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Bison Pipeline was restored to maximum allowable operating pressure of 1,440 psig along with having a force majeure declaration lifted at noon Saturday. “Gas had already been bought for the weekend, so we didn’t go up immediately” on pressure, said spokesman David Dodson. “It is looking like nominations for gas day Tuesday will be about 360-370 MMcf, which is what we were flowing before the July 20 incident” (see Daily GPI, July 25). Bison has a total design capacity of 477 MMcf/d.

With production and personnel almost completely restored in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) after Tropical Storm Lee’s passing and Tropical Storm Nate likely to steer clear of U.S. energy interests, traders on Friday put downward pressure on natural gas futures values. The October contract ended up dropping 6.5 cents on the day to close at $3.915, which is 4.3 cents higher than the previous week’s finish.

After two days of being in the dark, power was restored to the Washington, DC, headquarters of FERC, allowing it to reopen its doors Friday, the agency said.

Pacific Gas and Electric did not extend a systemwide low-inventory OFO beyond Thursday.

The Obama administration last Tuesday restored a rule that requires federal agencies to once again consult with federal wildlife experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — the two agencies charged with administering the Endangered Species Act (ESA) — before taking any action that may affect threatened or endangered species.

The Obama administration Tuesday restored a rule that requires federal agencies to once again consult with federal wildlife experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — the two agencies that administer the Endangered Species Act (ESA) — before taking any action that may affect threatened or endangered species.