West

Buccaneer Pipeline, one of two long lines proposed to cross theGulf of Mexico and deliver gas to the west coast of the FloridaPeninsula, has finally received permission to go ashore in PascoCounty, north of Tampa-St. Petersburg, after facing substantiallandowner opposition.

Florida Gas Transmission discovered a leak on its 22-inchmainline downstream of Station 4 (Matagorda County, TX) betweenvalves 4-7 and 4-5 (west of Galveston Bay). That section was beingisolated and its pressure reduced. As of Tuesday afternoon,estimated downtime was 24-36 hours. FGT was keeping shippers wholeTuesday and trying to re-route as much affected gas as possible, aspokeswoman said, but for today’s gas day there will be no flow at15 receipt points and two delivery points.

Horace Greeley’s advice to “go west, young man,” has never beenmore true than for independent North American oil and gascompanies, which are claiming stakes in the Rocky Mountains andreaping huge returns from the untapped natural gas reserves thatlie beneath the deep, thick sands in the mountainous, multi-stateregion.

Horace Greeley’s advice to “go west, young man,” has never beenmore true than for independent North American oil and gascompanies, which are claiming stakes in the Rocky Mountains andreaping huge returns from the untapped natural gas reserves thatlie beneath the deep, thick sands in the mountainous, multi-stateregion.

ÿTranswestern will perform maintenance today on units atStations 1, 2 and 3, reducing West of Thoreau capacity by about100,000 MMBtu/d.

Two preliminary underground natural gas storage projects in theWest, separated by more than 1,000 miles, are textbook examples ofthe fact that demand and market location alone are only part of thestrategic considerations for making new merchant storageeconomically viable.

When the clock strikes midnight tonight on the West Coast,California’s state legislature, which has been known to stop theCapitol clocks at 11:59 p.m. in similar occasions, will eitherprovide some ways out of the state’s electricity problems or watchits efforts turn back into the pumpkin that has represented thissummer’s high bills and short power supplies.

Two preliminary underground natural gas storage projects in theWest, separated by more than 1,000 miles, are textbook examples ofthe fact that demand and market location alone are only part of thestrategic considerations for making new merchant storageeconomically viable.

In addition to the California investigation, FERC deniedSDG&E’s request for an immediate broad $250/MWh price cap onall electricity sellers in California. The California utility didnot provide evidence that all potential sellers in the state havemarket power, nor did it show why a broad price cap would be anappropriate response, the order said.