Return

An Alaskan oil and gas official said last week that the state would welcome MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. back to the table to construct a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to the Lower 48. The Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary last month withdrew its application to build a $6.3 billion pipeline because it said the state did not agree to allow an exclusive five-year development period (see NGI, March 29).

An Alaskan oil and gas official said Tuesday that the state would welcome MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. back to the table to construct a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to the Lower 48. The Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary last month withdrew its application to build a $6.3 billion pipeline because it said the state did not agree to allow an exclusive five-year development period (see Daily GPI, March 26).

The cold north wind certainly helped blow out the price difference, or basis, this winter between the Gulf Coast producing region spot price points and the northeastern gas market, but pipeline capacity constraints to the market region have been known for several years. Unfortunately, there are few projects available that can provide any relief in the near term, according to consultants at Arlington, VA-based Energy and Environmental Analysis Inc. (EEA).

The cold north wind certainly helped blow out the price difference, or basis, this winter between the Gulf Coast producing region spot price points and the northeastern gas market, but pipeline capacity constraints to the market region have been known for several years. Unfortunately, there are few projects available that can provide any relief in the near term, according to consultants at Arlington, VA-based Energy and Environmental Analysis Inc. (EEA).

TransCanada’s return to mainly core regulated pipeline operations, which was started well before the industry trend began in earnest over the last two years, clearly has paid off in terms of stable financial growth.

TransCanada’s return to mainly core regulated pipeline operations, which was started well before the industry trend began in earnest over the last two years, clearly has paid off in terms of stable financial growth.

Looking to return focus to its core businesses and higher returns, ConocoPhillips entered into an agreement with Canadian convenience store mogul Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. on Monday for the sale of the Circle K Corp., which comprises 1,663 retail marketing outlets in 16 states and the Circle K brand, as well as the assignment of the franchise relationship with more than 350 franchised and licensed stores.

Williams Companies shares jumped 5% to $9.42/share Tuesday after Merrill Lynch analysts Steve Fleischman and Sam Brothwell resumed coverage of the company with a “Buy” rating and a $12/share 12-month price target.

Rising futures prices, hot temperatures in the Midwest/Midcontinent and the return of gas-fired generation in the Northeast following the blackout helped spur the gas market to move higher on Monday. A compressor station outage at the Sable Offshore Energy Project’s Goldboro plant in Nova Scotia also took Maritimes volumes down about 105 MMcf/d to about 355 MMcf/d, according to an ExxonMobil Canada spokesman.