Sign

BP and Accenture, formerly Andersen Consulting, jointly announced a $175 million expansion of BP’s U.S. refining and marketing energy outsourcing agreement. The companies said Accenture will design, build and run business systems that support the majority of BP’s U.S. downstream back-office business processes.

BP and Accenture, formerly Andersen Consulting, jointly announced on Tuesday a $175 million expansion of BP’s U.S. refining and marketing energy outsourcing agreement. The companies said Accenture will design, build and run business systems that support the majority of BP’s U.S. downstream back-office business processes.

In what could be a telling sign for making permanent a similar program for natural gas royalties, the Minerals Management Service reports that its crude oil royalty-in-kind (RIK) pilot program in Wyoming has successfully demonstrated that taking production in kind is a “viable alternative” to the traditional method of collecting royalties, in some circumstances.

In what could be a telling sign for making permanent a similarprogram for natural gas royalties, the Minerals Management Servicereports that its crude oil royalty-in-kind (RIK) pilot program inWyoming has successfully demonstrated that taking production inkind is a “viable alternative” to the traditional method ofcollecting royalties, in some circumstances.

Once again softening cash prices followed the lead of theprevious afternoon’s screen movement, and if that tendencycontinues to hold true, expect another falling cash market today.Wednesday’s declines ranged from about a nickel to 20 cents, andCalifornia stood out again with losses greater than those in thegeneral market.

Another sign that the bloom may be off the deregulation bushsurfaced this week in the state of Washington when the state’smajor combination investor-owned utility butted heads with some ofthe region’s industrial giants, including Boeing, Equilon andGeorgia-Pacific, over the large energy users’ request to stateregulators Tuesday (Dec. 12) to get out of a special pricing dealthey cut four years ago when wholesale power prices were rockbottom.

Kinder Morgan Texas Pipeline (KMTP) has clinched a deal to become the primary natural gas transporter for Calpine in the Texas Gulf Coast and Ship Channel markets under a 10-year, natural gas transportation and storage agreement. The deal gives Calpine access to up to 375,000 MMBtu/d of firm natural gas transportation service for a decade beginning Jan. 1, 2001.

Kinder Morgan Texas Pipeline (KMTP) has clinched a deal tobecome the primary natural gas transporter for Calpine in the TexasGulf Coast and Ship Channel markets under a 10-year, natural gastransportation and storage agreement. The deal gives Calpine accessto up to 375,000 MMBtu/d of firm natural gas transportation servicefor a decade beginning Jan. 1, 2001.

Elwood Energy LLC, located about 60 miles southwest of Chicago,has signed a multi-year power plant sales agreement with AquilaEnergy for the output of Elwood’s phase II expansion of itsgas-fired peaking facility. When the Elwood, IL facility becomesoperational next summer, it will double the capacity of itsexisting 600 MW merchant facility, bringing the total capacity to1,350 MW.