Virginia

Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. plans to create a new gas storage company, Hardy Storage Company LLC, to offer firm and interruptible storage services from a proposed 12.4 Bcf gas storage field in Hardy and Hampshire Counties, WV.

Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. plans to create a new gas storage company, Hardy Storage Company LLC, to offer firm and interruptible storage services from a proposed 12.4 Bcf gas storage field in Hardy and Hampshire Counties, WV.

Citing the effects of Hurricane Isabel, Columbia Gas said Friday its markets in southeast Virginia were “taking gas at abnormally low levels” and the condition might require issuance of an OFO. Columbia said its ability to receive gas into Market Area 34, “specifically at the Emporia interconnection with Transco,” was very limited. Market Area 34 was already subject to Critical Day restrictions (see Daily GPI, Sept. 10). To avoid an OFO, customers were asked to minimize receipts into Market Area 34, especially at Emporia, where zero non-firm receipt capacity was posted. “Customers should attempt to verify the existence of their actual market prior to scheduling deliveries into Markets Areas 33 and 34,” the pipeline continued. See the bulletin board for actions that Columbia took to protect system integrity and other details.

Columbia Gas said Thursday a Critical Day designation for Market Area 34 in southeastern Virginia, initiated Sunday, will remain in place Friday through Sunday and will also be applied to storage injections. Based on forecasted markets, available facilities and capacity utilization, there is still no non-firm capacity available to Market Area 34, the pipeline said. In addition, it projects that no excess injection capacity will be available for non-firm storage services, thus ruling out MDIQ overruns, SIT injections, imbalance paybacks and ISS injections.

Columbia Gas extended a Critical Day designation for Market Area 34 in southeastern Virginia, initiated on Sunday (see Daily GPI, Sept. 2), through at least Thursday.

Consultants at Freedman Billings Ramsey (FBR) in Northern Virginia see only a slight increase in drilling and gas production as a result of the proposal released last week by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) to reduce royalties on deep shelf Gulf of Mexico gas production (see Daily GPI, March 27).

Consultants at Freedman Billings Ramsey (FBR) in Northern Virginia see only a slight increase in drilling and gas production as a result of the proposal released last week by the Mineral Management Service (MMS) to reduce royalties on deep shelf Gulf of Mexico gas production (see Daily GPI, March 27).

Virginia-based AES Corp. last week said that its balance sheet will be hit with charges in the fourth quarter totaling an eye-popping $2.7 billion, or $4.96 per share, associated with asset and goodwill impairments. The charges reflect the impacts of changes in electricity markets and economic conditions in the U.K. and the U.S., as well as weak currency and economic conditions in Brazil during 2002, AES said.

Yes Virginia, there still is an energy executive whom you can admire. Chicago-based Morningstar Inc., a worldwide investment research firm, has named Richard D. Kinder, chairman and CEO of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP), as one of four nominees for its CEO of the Year award for 2002. It will announce the winner live on CNBC on Jan. 3 at about 11:20 a.m. (Eastern time).