Setting

EnerSea Transport LLC, setting a course to bring offshore stranded reserves to North America by 2006 via a compressed natural gas (CNG) system, has added Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (K Line) to its maritime team, which will own and operate the future marine vessels. K Line’s alliance is part of EnerSea’s plan to deploy its Volume Optimized Transport and Storage system, otherwise known as VOTRANS.

EnerSea Transport LLC, setting a course to bring offshore stranded reserves to North America by 2006 via a compressed natural gas (CNG) system, has added Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (K Line) to its maritime team, which will own and operate the future marine vessels. K Line’s alliance is part of EnerSea’s plan to deploy its Volume Optimized Transport and Storage system, otherwise known as VOTRANS.

XTO Energy Inc., Denbury Resources Inc. and Marathon Oil Corp. on Friday indicated they expect to keep production levels up this year, although investment in new opportunities may be delayed until commodity prices rise.

In light of the “national importance” and “precedent-setting character” of the pending bid-rigging and price-manipulation complaint against El Paso Natural Gas, California regulators and the state’s three principal utilities have asked that they be given a chance to make a pitch for their case before the full FERC.

In light of the “national importance” and “precedent-setting character” of the pending bid-rigging and price-manipulation complaint against El Paso Natural Gas, California regulators and the state’s three principal utilities have asked that they be given a chance to make a pitch for their case before the full FERC.

BP Canada late Tuesday extinguished the fire on the remaining well at its Fort Saskatchewan plant by setting a plug downhole in the well to isolate the cavern that stores ethane at the natural gas liquids (NGL) facility. The plant fire started following an explosion Aug. 26, which caused two wells to catch fire (see Daily GPI, Sept. 4). BP said it was sending emergency crews home and would bring in a recovery team to return operations to normal. The BP team now will focus on what caused the incident and will bring all pipeline systems and operations up by the end of the week. Most of the systems affected by the fire are now fully or partially operational, BP said, with the Peace and AEGS systems operating at 100%; Co-Ed running at 80%; and Cochin operating at 50% volumes.

Confusion over the new FERC mechanism for setting wholesale power prices during emergency situations in the West may have caused some generators to withhold supply from the California and Nevada markets earlier this week, aggravating the already-existing tight supply situations in both states, power officials said.

After navigating California regulatory maze successfully withsome precedent-setting environmental planning, the backers of thefirst new power plant slated for electron-starved San Diego Countystill have some difficult decisions ahead regarding gas supply forthe 500-MW Otay Mesa generating plant.

Despite very nasty winter weather setting in or approaching inmany regions Friday, weekend prices were softer everywhere exceptat most West Coast points. Most declines ranged from about a dimeto 20 cents, but the PG&E citygate and Pacific Northwestregistered moderate advances and the Southern California border sawa whopping advance of almost $2.