Resumed

Shell Exploration & Production Co. reported it has resumed partial production flows from its Mars Tension Leg Platform (TLP), the largest producing platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The platform was shut-in due to damage from Hurricane Katrina last August.

The Hess Corp.-operated Sea Robin Processing Plant resumed processing operations Monday night after being shut down unexpectedly Friday (see Daily GPI, Aug. 21), Sea Robin Pipeline reported. The pipeline asked shippers to adjust flows and nominations as needed.

The Amerada Hess-operated Sea Robin Processing Plant resumed processing operations late Wednesday afternoon, Sea Robin Pipeline said. The South Louisiana plant had shut down unexpectedly last Saturday (see Daily GPI, April 20). The pipeline asked shippers to adjust gas flows and nominations as needed.

After reporting Thursday that the Amerada Hess-operated Sea Robin Processing Plant had resumed operations again that afternoon for the first time since shutting down during the passage of Hurricane Rita last fall (see Daily GPI, March 24), Sea Robin Pipeline said the plant had been shut down again Friday morning until further notice.

Cash prices resumed their descent at all points Thursday following Wednesday’s moderate rally. Recent screen weakness, an increasingly bearish storage situation and the fact that the return of colder weather is still leaving temperatures above normal in many areas weighed down the spot market.

Southern Natural Gas said it resumed offshore construction activities last Monday after suspending them for about seven days due to adverse weather conditions. Based on the best information available, Southern projected these return-to-service dates for the remaining portions of its offshore system that were damaged during Hurricane Katrina: east of Main Pass 298 Junction Platform, Dec. 25; 12-inch line from Main Pass 298 “A” to Main Pass 298 “B,” Jan. 11, 2006; 20-inch line from South Pass 62 “B” to Main Pass 298 “B,” Feb. 28, 2006; 18-inch line from Main Pass 306 “D” to Main Pass 293, Feb. 28, 2006; and the 14-inch line from Main Pass 153 to South Pass 62 “B,” March 16, 2006. An in-service date for the 12-inch line to West Delta 133 is dependent on producer repairs, Southern said. An OFO Type 6 remains in effect for Friday on Southern’s contiguous system; the pipeline said Thursday it is “too close to call” on whether the OFO will be extended beyond Friday.

After regrouping on Thursday with a mostly neutral session, traders on Friday resumed the downtrend in natural gas futures. The December contract pushed as low as $11.215 before finishing Friday at $11.415, down 27.4 cents on the day and a whopping $1.64 lighter for the week.

Choosing to follow crude’s weakness instead of minor concerns related to Tropical Storm Adrian in the Pacific, June natural gas futures resumed a downward trek on Wednesday.

McMoRan Exploration Co. said the U.S Coast Guard on April 21 resumed the statutory period under the Deepwater Port Act (DWPA) for review of the company’s proposed 1 Bcf/d Main Pass Energy Hub liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal and gas storage facility offshore Louisiana. McMoRan now expects the terminal to be approved by the end of the year.