Town

Few people in the gas industry realize it, but Pinedale, WY, a tiny town with one flashing red stop light, soon could become the center of the domestic natural gas universe, said Stuart Nance, director of oil and gas marketing for Ultra Petroleum.

There were no injuries or fire when a rupture occurred early Thursday morning on Tennessee’s 30-inch diameter line near the town of Halfway in Allen County, KY, about 70 miles north of Nashville, TN. Up to 200 residents in the area were evacuated temporarily but had returned to their homes shortly after daybreak Thursday, a pipeline spokesman said. The affected section was closed off quickly, and no services were interrupted, he added.

Chesapeake Utilities Corp. announced plans to extend its gas distribution system southward into Sussex County, DE, from the town of Milford to Milton in early 2006. “The expansion will allow us to provide natural gas as an energy choice to planned residential developments, as well as nearby residential, commercial and industrial customers who will benefit from another fuel option,” said Stephen C. Thompson, senior vice president for the utility. Chesapeake’s Delaware and Maryland natural gas distribution systems serve more than 42,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in the southern portion of New Castle County, Kent County and parts of Sussex County in Delaware, as well as parts of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Thompson added that Chesapeake’s expansion supports Delaware’s recently-adopted energy policy, which calls for enhancing the availability of natural gas in areas that don’t have it as a fuel option today.

One of the current hotspots in the drive to bring on new gas supplies from the Rocky Mountains involves the Roan Plateau, which rises 3,000 feet northwest of the town of Rifle, CO, in the mineral-rich Uinta-Piceance Basin.

One of the current hotspots in the drive to bring on new gas supplies from the Rocky Mountains involves the Roan Plateau, which rises 3,000 feet northwest of the town of Rifle, CO, in the mineral-rich Uinta-Piceance Basin.

Manitoba Hydro reported that about 1,200 gas customers in the town of Stonewall were without service Thursday after a supply line become “blocked.” Electricity supply to Stonewall was not affected. Service was gradually being restored in the community but the restoration process was expected to continue through the evening. The utility said it was installing a bypass around a section of gas supply line that was blocked. All gas services in Stonewall were turned off at the gas meter during the morning and the meters had to be turned on and gas appliances re-lit by Manitoba Hydro staff. The company estimated that 80% of the 1,200 affected customers would have their gas service restored by 4 p.m. and work will continue until all services are returned to normal.

Off the beaten path of western energy and commerce superhighways, Elko, NV, is being left in the dust by natural gas pipeline and power plant developers since the wholesale market and many of its major practitioners suffered the retrenchment of the past 18 months.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) issued for comment on Tuesday staff-proposed rules for competitive retail natural gas service and for providers of the service. In accordance with amended Ohio Substitute House Bill 9, which was signed by Gov. Bob Taft in March, the commission has been given new ruling power over natural gas providers in the state (see Daily GPI, May 17).

Calgary-based PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd. agreed Friday to acquire cross-town independent Causeway Energy Corp. for C$65 million ($43 million), a deal that includes all of Causeway’s U.S. assets in Montana and Canadian assets in Southern Saskatchewan and Alberta. In the first quarter, Causeway reported an average production of 9,366 Mcf/d, with 99% in natural gas — an increase of 50% over the first quarter of 2000.