Went

Oregon state lawmakers are working to stop potential offshore oil/gas drilling along the state’s coastline and separately a business-labor coalition went to the state capital Wednesday to take aim at the legislature to correct what it characterizes as a flawed regulatory permitting system for energy infrastructure. To support the latter, Energy Action Northwest, the business-labor group, staged a rally in the rain seeking support of various proposed bills aimed at creating more jobs in the infrastructure sector.

Oilfield operator Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) said Tuesday North American business climbed 9% sequentially in 4Q2009 after producers went back to work to drill more horizontal natural gas wells in U.S. and Canadian unconventional shale plays, as well as increased offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and the Permian and Williston basins.

Oilfield operator Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) said Tuesday North American business climbed 9% sequentially in 4Q2009 after producers went back to work to drill more horizontal natural gas wells in U.S. and Canadian unconventional shale plays, as well as increased offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and the Permian and Williston basins.

After ending a one-day high-inventory OFO on its California Gas Transmission system Sunday, Pacific Gas and Electric went the other way in issuing a systemwide Stage 2 low-inventory OFO for Wednesday. Noncompliance penalties of $1/Dth were set for exceeding a 5% tolerance on negative daily imbalances.

October natural gas futures went off the board on Monday with a bearish bang as values dropped under the weight of the recent advance. October slid 25.5 cents on the day to terminate at $3.730, while the November contract wasn’t nearly as weak in trimming 11.8 cents during the regular session to $4.830.

The second half of the 500-mile Midcontinent Express Pipeline (MEP) went into operation over the weekend, providing shale natural gas producers with a major route to eastern markets. This portion of the $1.3 billion line spans about 207 miles from Delhi, LA, to Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line’s (Transco) Station 85 in Butler, AL. Interim service on the first half of the pipeline — from Bennington, OK, to Delhi — began in April (see Daily GPI, June 16).

The Arkoma Connector pipeline, a joint venture of MarkWest Energy Partners and ArcLight Capital Partners, went into operation in mid-July with little fanfare. But Denver-based MarkWest plans to put the focus on its new pipeline during its earnings conference Tuesday. Asked if Arkoma Connector was running at full capacity yet, MarkWest Treasurer Dan Campbell said, “We haven’t disclosed that,” but noted that the company would talk more about the pipeline’s operations at the earnings conference. The pipeline extends from the outlet of a treating plant in northeast Oklahoma 50 miles in a southeasterly direction to near Bennington, OK, where it connects with the Midcontinent Express and Gulf Crossing systems. Arkoma Connector, which was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in late 2008, has the capability to deliver 625,000 Dth/d out of the Woodford Shale area to the Bennington area (see Daily GPI, Nov. 14, 2008).

An increased surcharge to pay for energy efficiency programs went into effect last Saturday for Spokane, WA-based Avista Utilities, but it is subject to a review by Idaho regulators that got under way Monday. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will take comments on Avista’s higher charges through Aug. 28.

Citing the company’s work on correcting anomalies on its new large-diameter Gulf Crossing Pipeline before it went into service in late June, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) revised its outlook on Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP to “negative” from “stable” and affirmed its “BBB” corporate credit rating.