Valley

Unocal Corp. has discovered natural gas at its Alaskan Happy Valley prospect on the Kenai Peninsula. First production is expected by the fourth quarter of 2004, with average production of 20-25 MMcf/d in 2005.

While repairing an equipment failure at the Castle Valley CO2 Plant, Questar decided to inspect and repair additional equipment as a preventative measure. To facilitate the work, a plant outage originally scheduled for Feb. 11-12 will be extended through Feb. 13-14. The plant is expected to return to service at a reduced processing level of about 70,000 Dth/d for the Feb. 15 gas day. Because no processing will be available during the Feb. 11-14 period, Questar will work closely with upstream producers to maintain gas quality within tariff specifications. Equipment removed during the shutdown is scheduled for reinstallation during the last week of February, after which the plant is expected to return to normal service. No plant shutdown is required and no customer impact is expected during this installation, Questar said.

Oil and natural gas-rich Kern County in the southern end of California’s San Joaquin Valley went to court last week to uphold Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s past and future property tax bills on the former U.S. Naval Petroleum Reserve at nearby Elk Hills. At stake is up to $73 million of past taxes that Oxy argues should be refunded, along with future tax bills of $7.5 million annually.

Oil and natural gas-rich Kern County in the southern end of California’s San Joaquin Valley went to court last week to uphold Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s past and future property tax bills on the former U.S. Naval Petroleum Reserve at nearby Elk Hills

East Tennessee Natural Gas has filed an amendment to its Patriot expansion-extension project to reflect the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) decision to scrap its plans to build a 510 MW power generation facility in the state, as well as a decision by another customer — Cogentrix affiliate Henry County Power LLC — to delay the construction of its proposed 1,080 MW generation facility in Virginia.

Holding company UGI Corp., headquartered in Valley Forge, PA, reported Tuesday that its net income was up 28% over a year ago, standing at $2.10 per diluted share for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2001 compared with $1.64 for the same period of 2000. For the third quarter, UGI recorded a seasonal net loss of $0.40 per diluted share, excluding a one-time charge, compared to a loss of $0.39 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2000. UGI previously reported that it expected fiscal year 2001 net income to be $2.05, net of one-time items.

Anticipating the development of a natural gas pipeline in the Mackenzie Delta Valley to move supplies to the Lower 48, Ensign Resource Service Group Inc. and Gwich’in Development Corp. (GDC) have teamed up in a joint venture to provide drilling and oilfield services in the Northwest Territories. Ensign, based in Calgary, is Canada’s second largest drilling firm, and has given GDC, an aboriginal company, a 51% stake in the deal establishing Gwich’in Ensign Oilfield Services Inc. (GEOS).

Anticipating the development of a natural gas pipeline in the Mackenzie Delta Valley to move supplies to the Lower 48, Ensign Resource Service Group Inc. and Gwich’in Development Corp. (GDC) have teamed up in a joint venture to provide drilling and oilfield services in the Northwest Territories. Ensign, based in Calgary, is Canada’s second largest drilling firm, and has given GDC, an aboriginal company, a 51% stake in the deal establishing Gwich’in Ensign Oilfield Services Inc. (GEOS).

Backers of the Elk Hills Power Plant in the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley’s oil patch held groundbreaking ceremonies Monday –on a 570-MW gas-fired plant in the midst of plentiful local gas supplies. The plant’s sponsors are Occidental Petroleum (Oxy), which owns the nearby Elk Hills oil/gas production fields once a part of the U.S. Navy’s Strategic Reserves, and Sempra Energy. The new plant will get all of its fuel supplies — up to 94 MMcf/d — from nearby Elk Hills, delivered through an Oxy pipeline, eliminating the normal utility transportation charges.