Type

Southern Natural Gas said Sunday it expected a Type 6 OFO for long imbalances that was implemented Saturday to last through at least Thursday.

As it did a week earlier, Southern Natural Gas implemented an OFO Type 6 for long imbalances starting Saturday until further notice. The pipeline cited “historically high storage inventory levels and projected high injection requirements” for the Oct. 4-5 weekend.

Southern Natural Gas lifted Monday the Type 6 OFO that had begun Saturday due to high storage inventories and limited injection capability. Southern also said it will evaluate nominations for due-pipe imbalance make-ups on each scheduling cycle, but will allow make-ups only on days when forecasted storage injections do not exceed CSS injection entitlements.

Southern Natural Gas canceled Monday the OFO Type 6 that had been implemented Saturday.

Southern Natural Gas said that based on forecasted supply and “historically low demand for the upcoming holiday weekend,” it will implement an OFO Type 6 for long imbalances Friday. Tiered penalties of $1-15/Dth will apply to positive daily imbalances exceeding 2% or 200 Dth, whichever is greater.

Southern Natural Gas will implement an OFO Type 6 for short imbalances effective Friday until further notice. No penalty will apply to short imbalances up to 2% or 200 Dth, whichever is greater; tiered penalties were set for larger imbalances. Saying forecasts indicated “significantly colder weather” in its service area from Wednesday evening through Saturday, Southern told customers that “based on current supplies and anticipated demand,” it expected its storage withdrawal capability to be exceeded “by approximately 540 MMcf” for Thursday’s gas day. It also said that based on supply patterns from recent high-throughput days, it will be evaluating and potentially allocating receipt points west of Enterprise Compressor Station, which is on its south mainline in southern Mississippi. Fifteen receipt groups (see the bulletin board for a list) could be impacted, Southern said. It combined them into “newly defined parent group” 181-West of Enterprise Supply Group.

Southern Natural Gas said its OFO Type 6 for short imbalances that was issued Thursday would be canceled at the start of Saturday’s gas day. However, the pipeline said it was “too close to call” on whether an OFO for short imbalances would be reinstated for Monday and/or Tuesday.

Southern Natural Gas will implement an OFO Type 6 for short imbalances Thursday. There will be no penalties for short imbalances up to 2% or 200 Dth, whichever is greater. Tiered penalties will be applied for larger imbalances, up to a maximum of $15/Dth for those exceeding 8%. The pipeline had warned Tuesday that such an OFO was highly likely for Thursday and Friday.

The U.S. Coast Guard said last week that the Chesapeake Bay is not suitable for navigation by liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers but could be made so for the type of traffic associated with the proposed Sparrows Point LNG terminal. Requirements would include armed tanker escorts.