Units

Low natural gas prices adversely affected a number of Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp.’s business units, resulting in the net loss the company reported Friday.

Two public-sector utilities in California and Tennessee won’t see any change in the credit ratings of their respective natural gas-buying units from the ratings upgrade of Wachovia Bank NA, according to an assessment released Monday by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P). Both the ratings and the credit outlook remain unchanged on the $449 million in gas-buying bonds of the two utilities.

A joint $150 million underground natural gas storage project between units of Portland, OR-based Northwest Natural Gas Co. and San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) filed Tuesday with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for approval to build and operate the proposed 20 Bcf facility in 2010 at a site near Fresno, CA in the north end of the state’s massive central valley region. The proponents’ environmental assessment of the project was included in the filing.

Tony Hayward, who became CEO of BP plc in May, on Thursday unveiled a reorganization plan that will reduce the number of business units to two from three and create an alternative energy division.

Due to a mechanical issue on one of the three units at Goodsprings Compressor Station, the station’s operational capacity will be set at 1,466,000 Dth/d Wednesday until further notice, Kern River said. As a result, the Veyo Compressor Station capacity will be set at 1,988,000 Dth/d. Primary firm transportation scheduled in the Timely cycle should not be impacted if nominated quantities are similar to those on Monday’s gas day, Kern River said. It added that due to system operational conditions and the Goodsprings situation, all shippers and operators should take only the quantity of gas that is scheduled and not draft the system.

An expansion of heat levels high enough to prompt use of gas-fired peaking generation units to meet rising air conditioning demand, abetted by a 20-cent futures advance a day earlier, resulted in weekend price gains at most points Friday. The Weather Channel (TWC) reported that with a cold front being held at bay around the Canadian border, “two-thirds of the states will see highs above 90 by Sunday.”

A little-known exploration and production (E&P) subsidiary of Constellation Energy Group Inc. on Friday raised the number of units it will offer in a planned initial public offering (IPO) to extend its coalbed methane (CBM) holdings in Alabama’s Black Warrior Basin. Following the IPO, the Baltimore-based power company would own 58% of Constellation Energy Resources LLC.

A little-known exploration and production (E&P) subsidiary of Constellation Energy Group Inc. on Friday raised the number of units it will offer in a planned initial public offering (IPO) to extend its coalbed methane (CBM) holdings in Alabama’s Black Warrior Basin. Following the IPO, the Baltimore-based power company would own 58% of Constellation Energy Resources LLC.

Trailblazer declared a force majeure at its compressor station 602 in Lincoln County, NB on Monday. The station experienced an unexpected outage due to an internal electrical failure on one of its compressor units. The estimated duration of the outage is four weeks. Effective on the Intraday 1 cycle for Tuesday and continuing until further notice, secondary out-of-path and ITS/AOR volumes will not be available for scheduling. Trailblazer estimates that 800,000 Dth of firm capacity will be available during the outage. Therefore, nominated primary firm and secondary in-the-path firm transportation will be scheduled pro rata based on the shipper’s primary contract MDQ in accordance with Trailblazer’s tariff. Trailblazer expects to be able to confirm 94.5% of total contracted MDQ for primary firm transportation.