Rocky

Palomar Gas Transmission LLC, a joint venture of TransCanada Corp. and Northwest Natural Gas Co., Thursday filed an application at FERC to build a natural gas transmission pipeline to move Rocky Mountain gas into markets in the Willamette Valley of northwest Oregon and the West Coast’s I-5 corridor.

Kern River Gas Transmission Monday was awarded a favorable environmental assessment (EA) for a proposed expansion to increase takeaway capacity for Rocky Mountain producers.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy’s Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center (RMOTC) and Ormat Technologies Inc. have produced the first successful generation of electricity using geothermal hot water from a producing oil well in Wyoming, they said last week. The power can be used in oil/gas production, reducing costs and freeing capacity on the power grid.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy’s Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center (RMOTC) and Ormat Technologies Inc. have produced the first successful generation of electricity using geothermal hot water from a producing oil well in Wyoming, they said this week. The power can be used in oil/gas production, reducing costs and freeing capacity on the power grid.

Ending a rocky week of commodity and equity market ups and downs that was dominated by news of the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the sales of Merrill Lynch and Constellation Energy, October natural gas futures on Friday ended up quietly closing at $7.531, down 9 cents on the day but 16.5 cents higher than the previous week’s close.

Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development, a coalition of Western hunting and wildlife groups, last week urged the federal government to restrict energy development in the Rocky Mountains to protect the region’s natural resources.

Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development, a coalition of Western hunting and wildlife groups, this week urged the federal government to restrict energy development in the Rocky Mountains to protect the region’s natural resources.

In a bit of encouraging news for Rocky Mountain oil and natural gas producers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) plans to remove the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse from the federal threatened species list in Wyoming. However, the mouse for now will remain listed as threatened in Colorado. The FWS said the mouse may be delisted in Wyoming because testing has confirmed that the habitat is no longer at risk from over development. Many of the mice found through testing were located on farmland and ranchland that is not considered at risk for development. However, in Colorado, the FWS noted that development continues to threaten the mouse habitat. “Much of Preble’s riparian habitat in Colorado has been severely altered or destroyed by human activities,” said Steve Guertin, director of the FWS Mountain-Prairie Region. “Continued rapid development is expected along Colorado’s Front Range as the population continues to grow. Without the protection of the federal Endangered Species Act, much of Preble’s habitat would be lost.” The nocturnal mammal, which has a tail twice the length of its three-inch body, mostly lives in streamside habitats near thick vegetation in the foothills of southeastern Wyoming and along the Front Range in Colorado, according to FWS. The mouse is able to jump up to three feet to escape predators. The mouse has been listed as a threatened species since 1998. In Colorado the FWS is expected to use a team made up of state and federal wildlife officials, agricultural and business interests to work on a recovery plan for the Preble’s mouse.

Houston-based Spectra Energy has signed a transportation agreement with ConocoPhillips to deliver up to 395 MMcf/d of Rocky Mountain natural gas from Clarington, OH, the eventual endpoint of the Rockies Express Pipeline (REX), to the Northeast by November 2010, the company said last Wednesday. Terms of the agreement with ConocoPhillips, one of the sponsors of REX, were not disclosed.