Start

With the official start of spring, time began to press California’s wide-ranging efforts to fix past, present and future (short and long-term) energy problems. For every positive last week, there seemed to be greater negative developments to deal with, rolling blackouts being the most dramatic. By last Friday, the prospect for bigger problems ahead seemed unavoidable.

Executives with NiSource Inc. can start breathing easier now as it appears that their company’s hard-fought and much-delayed merger with Columbia Energy Group last November (see NGI, Nov. 6, 2000) is beginning to show its benefits. CEO Gary L. Neale told shareholders at NiSource’s annual meeting last Wednesday that the merger remains on track to add to the company’s earnings in 2001.

Executives with NiSource Inc. can start breathing easier now as it appears that their company’s hard-fought and much-delayed merger with Columbia Energy Group last November (see Daily GPI, Nov. 1, 2000) is beginning to show its benefits. CEO Gary L. Neale told shareholders at NiSource’s annual meeting on Wednesday that the merger remains on track to add to the company’s earnings in 2001.

With several significant matters unresolved, including questions related to the procurement of property, Sempra Energy Resources is hesitant to predict when it will reach afinal decision on pursuing the construction of a 500 MW, natural gas-fueled power plant in Escondido, CA.

Wall Street analysts continue to predict a rapid storage refill this summer and warn of the potential for a significantly bearish reaction in the market in the short-term. Analysts at Salomon Smith Barney (SSB) yesterday reiterated projections earlier in the week by Lehman Brothers that lower demand because of high prices will lead to sharply steeper storage injections this spring.

The April aftermarket got off to a weak start Friday as quotesfor gas flows Sunday and today were below both first-of-monthindexes and end-of-March levels in virtually all cases. The biggestdropoffs occurred in California, where temperatures were much moresummer-like than elsewhere. However, the Golden State stillretained the dubious distinction of having the most expensive gasby far.

With the official start of spring, time began to pressCalifornia’s wide-ranging efforts to fix past, present and future(short-and long-term) energy problems. For every positive lastweek, there seemed to be greater negative developments to dealwith, rolling blackouts being the most dramatic. By last Friday,the prospect for bigger problems ahead seemed unavoidable.

Quicksilver Resources decided to start 2001 with a bang as thecompany announced last week that it had completed the acquisitionof nearly all of Mercury Exploration Co.’s natural gas processing,gathering, transmission, compression and marketing assets for justover $18 million. The Fort Worth-based company also announced thatit has completed the purchase of the remaining minority interest inits Canadian subsidiary, MGV Energy, for the equivalent of 283,669shares of Quicksilver common stock.

The Transco pipeline system’s capacity has increased by 204,099 Dth/d with the start-up of the SouthCoast Expansion project, said parent company Williams. The $108 million expansion provides additional firm transportation capacity to gas markets in Alabama and Georgia. The expansion loops 44 miles of pipeline and adds 31,500 hp of compression at stations in Rockford, AL, and Newnan, GA. The facilities add capacity to Transco’s mainline from Station 85 in Butler, AL, to delivery points within zone four. The expansion will serve Atlanta Gas Light, Georgia Power and a new power generation plant to be built by the South Carolina Public Service Authority. FERC approved the SouthCoast Expansion in May (see NGI, Sept. 4). Transco also has numerous other expansions on the drawing board. The 38-mile, 236,000 Dth/d Sundance project will loop the southern mainline in spring 2002. The 152 mile, 700,000 Dth/d MarketLink project will loop the Leidy line in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. And the 125,000 Dth/d Cross Bay project will increase deliveries into New York City. The company cited robust economic growth and the subsequent development of gas-fired power generation facilities as the main force driving these expansions.