Scheduled

Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has scheduled Aug. 8 to auction oil and gas leasehold rights on 218,000 acres of state forestland that are estimated to contain rich reserves of natural gas. Unlike previous oil and gas lease sales in which sealed paper bids were used, DCNR plans to conduct its first-ever online auction with the help of FreeMarkets Inc., based in Pittsburgh. Buyers may competitively bid on tracts anonymously in real time.

FERC met in closed session on Wednesday following its regularly scheduled open agenda meeting to discuss enforcement-related issues at the Commission, a move that Commissioners said is likely to become a regular part of the agency’s routine, as it is at FERC’s sister regulatory agencies in Washington, DC.

Transwestern has scheduled March 26-27 maintenance at the P-3 Compressor Station on its Panhandle Lateral. There will be zero flow at the Williams Canadian River and ANR-Red Deer points during the work.

In an online auction scheduled for 11 a.m. CST Monday, Gulf South will accept bids for 5 million dekatherms of Firm Storage Service (FSS) capacity through its web site (www.gulfsouthpl.com, click “Auctions”). The capacity will be available from April 1, 2002 to March 31, 2004. See the bulletin board or call Stacy Franz at (713) 544-5228 for more information.

Aquila has scheduled three informational meetings on the open season that began earlier this month for its recently purchased Red Lake Gas Storage facility in Mohave County, AZ (see Daily GPI, Feb. 7). They will be held Feb. 27 in Los Angeles, Feb. 28 in Phoenix and March 1 in Houston. Reservations can be made via e-mail to Barbara Schulle (bschulle@utilicorp.com) or by phoning (713) 336-7493. For more information, call Mark D. Cook at (816) 527-1369 or visit the http://www.aquila.com/redlake web site.

Enron Corp. got the go-ahead Wednesday from the U.S. federal bankruptcy judge handling its case to proceed with an auction of its commodities trading operations, setting a Jan. 7 deadline for bids. Enron said it wanted to complete the sale by Jan. 11. Judge Arthur Gonzalez approved expedited procedures to allow Enron to auction hardware, software, employment contracts for traders and other assets.

Transco lifted Monday a restriction on scheduled quantities through Station 40 in East Texas to primary firm transportation only; it had been imposed Thursday (see Daily GPI, Sept. 27). The pipeline also ended Monday a restriction on due-pipeline imbalance make-ups but said it will maintain a limit on positive imbalances at all pooling points.

Chevron Corp. and proposed merger partner Texaco Inc. on Friday scheduled special shareholder meetings for Oct. 9 to vote on their previously announced merger (see Daily GPI, Oct. 17, 2000). The date of the meetings, as well as other merger-related information — including a new New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol, CVX — were contained in a filing by Chevron made Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The new company would be called ChevronTexaco.

Chevron Corp. and proposed merger partner Texaco Inc. Friday scheduled special shareholder meetings for October 9, with a record date of August 20, to vote on their previously announced merger (see NGI, Oct. 23, 2000). The date of the meetings, as well as other merger-related information — including a new New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol, CVX — were contained in a filing by Chevron made Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The new company would be called ChevronTexaco.