Texas

Natural gas spot prices were mixed on Thursday with some points up more than 15 cents while others were down a dime in an unclear response to the EIA’s report of an 81 Bcf injection into gas storage facilities last week, a storage number that was in line with most expectations.

Texas Eastern said the investigation and repair of the pipeline break at the discharge of the French Lick station in Indiana continues. Until completion of the investigation and repair, receipts on the 24-inch diameter line will be restricted. For Oct. 17, it was not necessary to restrict nominations for gas leaving the constrained area due to reductions in requested volumes. However, Tetco said no incremental supply nominations can be accepted.

Texas Eastern said that due to mild weather over the past weekend it experienced significant underdeliveries that were compounded by over-receipts into its system. As storage fields fill, the pipeline said it has limited capacity for injections to deal with shipper imbalances. Tetco said all customers need to work off “Due Shipper” imbalances immediately. Tetco expects the mild weather conditions to continue. No shipper imbalances can be absorbed across its entire system until further notice.

Texas Eastern asked Monday morning that all upstream supplies be shut in following a rupture on a lateral to a power plant near Plaquemine, LA about 20 miles south of Baton Rouge. The lateral is in the East Louisiana zone on the Venice Line between the Whitecastle Compressor Station and New Roads, LA. A spokesman said the pipeline expected to restore service at the rupture site later Monday.

Dominion Transmission and Texas Eastern Transmission received approval Wednesday of their FERC petition to increase operations of compressors at their jointly-owned Oakford Storage Complex in Westmoreland County, PA to their design rating in order to enhance flexibility and reliability of the facility. The increase would be accomplished by adjusting software controls. FERC noted the change would increase power available for early and late season withdrawals, and may be used to maintain withdrawal capabilities in the event that existing horsepower becomes unavailable.

Texas Eastern said Tuesday afternoon it would complete repairs by Wednesday on a leak discovered in late February (see Daily GPI, Feb. 24) in the Mississippi River crossing of the M-1 24-inch line east of the Oran (MO) Compressor Station. The pipeline will begin accepting nominations for Thursday’s gas day for flow through Oran.

Texas Eastern Transmission rescheduled the outage of its Main Pass system for Monday because of Claudette. Nominations and production entering the system will be cut to zero. A third-party production platform operator is removing its platform from the system at the upstream end of the 24-inch diameter mainline. The entire system will be removed from service to accommodate the work and required piping modifications. Tetco will be unable to receive production from any meter located upstream of Venice on the Main Pass System for eight to 12 days.

Transco said it experienced a 1 Bcf/d production loss from Hurricane Claudette, primarily off of its Central Texas Gathering System, North High Island system and the UTOS interconnect. As a result Transco instituted its Emergency Supply Allocation Process for Tuesday and Wednesday, which will balance all deliveries on the system with the flowing supply available at the corresponding receipt points. Transco said it would not allow make up deliveries nor would it loan shippers gas under its parking and lending service, but it said it would make emergency storage service available to firm shippers on request.

Citing “the forecast potential for Tropical Storm Claudette to enter the Gulf of Mexico this weekend,” Texas Eastern said Wednesday the previously posted shutdown of its Main Pass System’s Line 40-B (see Daily GPI, July 9) has been postponed until July 16; it previously had been set to begin this Sunday. The duration and course of Claudette will dictate whether the schedule gets shifted again, the pipeline said.