Testing

Researchers from Duke University plan to return to Pennsylvania next week to conduct additional testing of residential water wells in the northeastern part of the state, including wells that are not currently near any Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling.

San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) has reduced the number of previously designated natural gas transmission pipeline segments requiring hydrostatic testing and put in place a separate gas operations group in its combination utility, according to a PG&E spokesperson.

Noting that it has limited operational flexibility to manage imbalances due to testing of its Bear Creek storage fields, Tennessee said it would implement Saturday a systemwide Imbalance Warning that requires all delivery point operators to keep actual daily takes out of the system equal to or greater than scheduled quantities and all receipt point operators to keep actual daily receipts into the system equal to or less than scheduled quantities. Both conditions apply regardless of an operator’s cumulative imbalance position. The pipeline also declared a force majeure Thursday night in connection with a leak on its line 3 section downstream of Station 110 near Moorehead, KY. Tennessee said it immediately activated its emergency response plan and dispatched personnel to the scene to close valves and isolate the segment between Main Line Valves 111-3 and 111-3A. Based on current nominations, Tennessee did not anticipate any outage-related service restrictions for the gas days of Thursday and Friday.

Pacific Gas and Electric did not extend a systemwide Stage 2 low-inventory OFO beyond Thursday.

Kern River, which had noted low linepack in a bulletin board posting Monday morning, said its system lost an additional 50,000 Dth during that gas day. That prompted the pipeline to bar any shipper drafting in a critical notice Tuesday. Kern River said it will curtail physical flows if necessary and asked customers with due-pipe imbalances to schedule payback. In response to Kern River’s situation, Las Vegas-based Southwest Gas issued a Hold Burn to Scheduled Quantities notice effective Monday until further notice.

California regulators scolded Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) Wednesday for allegedly failing to heed an order to complete a data search on the past pressure testing of all of its natural gas transmission pipelines in heavily populated areas. Instead, PG&E submitted incomplete data on Tuesday that even its president said he was not satisfied with (see Daily GPI, March 17).

Montreal-based producer Gastem Inc. said Thursday its Ross No.1 vertical well in the New York portion of the Marcellus Shale has been completed and is testing 150 MMcf/d after four weeks of “extended flow.”

Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) has filed several natural gas-related bills to potentially be considered during the 82nd session of the Texas Legislature, which begins Jan. 11.

FERC last week approved Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC’s request to accept delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for testing and commissioning of its terminal facilities in Sabine Pass, TX.