Transporting

The Department of Transportation (DOT) Friday issued a finalrule aimed at toughening safety standards for pipelinestransporting hazardous liquids through heavily populated andenvironmentally sensitive areas of the nation. The agency furtherindicated that a comparable rule for natural gas pipelines is onthe horizon.

Colorado Interstate Gas Co. has begun transporting an additional33 Mdth/d of natural gas from the Raton Basin to delivery points onits system following completion of its Picketwire Lateral Loop insouthern Colorado. The Coastal Corp.’s Rocky Mountain pipelinesubsidiary placed the line in service Oct. 24.

Congressional proponents of royalty in-kind legislation, whichwould force the government to assume the cost of transporting andmarketing its royalty portion of oil and gas production, aredrawing large sums of political action committee donations, softmoney and individual contributions from the oil and gas industry.