Stages

The phrase “nuclear renaissance” has become a cliche as the power industry ruminates on the potential for a nuclear future. While projects are early in their planning stages, their sheer number could indeed signal a new nuclear era — and an era of retrenchment for the share of natural gas in power generation.

The natural gas market is more actively traded than ever could have been imagined at its early stages in the mid-1980s, and FERC’s oversight has to change to accommodate that market, said a top agency official.

The natural gas market is more actively traded than ever could have been imagined at its early stages in the mid-1980s, and FERC’s oversight has to change to accommodate that market, said a top agency official.

The natural gas integrity management program, implemented under the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002, is still in its early stages, but it appears to be doing its job to improve pipeline safety nationwide, according to a 21-page report issued Friday by the General Accounting Office (GAO).

The natural gas integrity management program, implemented under the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002, is still in its early stages, but it appears to be doing its job to improve pipeline safety nationwide, according to a 21-page report issued Friday by the General Accounting Office (GAO).

Atmos Energy subsidiary Atmos Pipeline and Storage LLC plans to seek an exemption from regulatory oversight by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a 20-inch diameter natural gas gathering system it plans to build in Eastern Kentucky. The proposed 50-mile Straight Creek Gathering System would be capable of moving up to 100,000 MMBtu/d with the ability to expand to 225,000 MMBtu/d. It is designed to relieve transportation constraints and allow gas to flow from shut-in wells. The $80 million system would originate in Floyd County, KY, and extend to an interconnect with the Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Carter County, KY. Atmos said the project is supported by independent oil and gas producers in the area, including Kinzer Drilling, which will have an ownership stake in the project. More than a dozen other producers have signed memoranda of understanding to commit gas volumes to the system and to agree to commercial terms. “We expect our Straight Creek project to help boost natural gas drilling and production in the Big Sandy region of Kentucky,” said Mark H. Johnson, senior vice president, nonutility operations, of Atmos Energy. “The gathering system should help provide year-round dependability for gas producers and should indirectly benefit natural gas customers by helping bring more gas supplies to market as demand continues to grow.” Johnson said production from 1,700 gas wells on the eastern side of the state has been shut in. Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2006, with operations expected to begin by the summer of 2007.

Noting that total working gas storage capacity on its system is 60.0 Bcf, Southern Natural Gas said its inventory stood at 42.0 Bcf as of May 4, or 70% of capacity. That compares with 25.5 Bcf (43%) and 24.4 Bcf (41%) at the comparable stages of the 2005 and 2004 injection seasons respectively, Southern said. Storage is now 16.5 Bcf ahead of the year-ago level, and at historical injection rates, Southern projects that maximum storage capacity could be reached before mid-summer. “If this trend continues, please note that it might be necessary to implement the following restrictions on…[certain] types of transactions to preserve firm obligations and interruptible quantities that have already been accepted,” the pipeline said in a posting Wednesday. See the bulletin board for details on potential transaction restrictions.

With four different proposals in the early, informal stages of development for siting liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in Oregon, at least one and maybe two of the terminals eventually will be built, Michael Grainey, the head of the state energy department, told an energy conference in Seattle Thursday. He added that 140 miles of new natural gas transmission pipelines in the state helps make these proposed projects more feasible.

With four different proposals in the early, informal stages of development for siting liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in Oregon, at least one and maybe two of the terminals eventually will be built, Michael Grainey, the head of the state energy department, told an energy conference in Seattle Thursday. He added that 140 miles of new natural gas transmission pipelines in the state helps make these proposed projects more feasible.