Williams opened the doors to its new 300-position,21,000-square-foot energy trading floor, which it says featurestechnology, design and amenities surpassing those of most companiesin the nation. The trading floor is part of a new236,000-square-foot resource center adjacent to the 50-floorWilliams Tower in Tulsa, OK, where Williams has its corporateheadquarters. “As the second most profitable energy marketer in thenation, we remain committed to our customers by providing ourtraders with the absolute best tools available to compete andsucceed,” said Jerry Gollnick, senior vice president of energymarketing and trading for Williams.
Without
Articles from Without
Judge Rules Against Producers in Royalty Cas
In a “Freddie Krueger-style” wipeout, a federal district courton Friday the 13th dealt a crippling blow to a major producergroup and two producers when it denied their motions dealing withroyalty treatment of take-or-pay settlement payments. U.S. DistrictCourt Judge Royce Lamberth upheld his earlier ruling that theIndependent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) lackedjurisdiction in a lawsuit challenging the Interior Department’scollection of royalties on lump-sum payments made by producers toget out of their gas contracts with pipelines. The IPAA lawsuit ledto a 1996 ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in favor ofgas producers
PNGTS Extension Gets An NEB Nod
The upstream Canadian portion of the Portland Natural GasTransmission Project – the PNGTS Extension, which will link theU.S. pipeline with TransCanada PipeLines via an extension of theTrans Qu‚bec & Maritimes — received a favorable environmentalreview from Canada’s National Energy Board. The NEB concluded the132-mile extension is “not likely to cause significant adverseenvironmental effects, provided that the mitigative measuresidentified during the public hearing are implemented and enforced.”The NEB submitted its Comprehensive Study Report on the project tothe federal Minister of Environment and to the CanadianEnvironmental Assessment Agency last week
Industry Brief
The National Energy Board has started preparing a reportentitled Canadian Energy Supply and Demand 1998-2025, which isscheduled to be published in 1999. It will provide an analysis ofenergy trends, issues and developments impacting Canada over thenext quarter century. The Board will be taking public comments toobtain the views of interested parties. Written comments or papersmust be received no later than May 12. The first round of publicconsultations will take place in informal workshops in April invarious cities across the country. The Board has identified thefollowing tentative dates and locations for these publicconsultations: Calgary (April 8), Toronto (April 15), Montreal(April 17), Halifax (April 20), Ottawa (April 22) and Vancouver(April 28). Specific dates and locations will be finalizedfollowing the receipt of responses by interested parties. Fordetails see NEB’s website at www.neb.gc.ca/home.htm, or contactLorna Patterson at (403) 299-3987. Registration to participate inpublic discussion groups must be received no later than March 20
Industry Briefs
Rebecca McDonald, president and CEO of Amoco Energy Development,was named the 1998-1999 chairman of the Natural Gas SupplyAssociation last week. J. Larry Nichols, president of Devon EnergyCorp., was selected as vice chairman; Richard J. Sharples, vicepresident of marketing for Anadarko Petroleum, was madesecretary/treasurer.
Transportation Notes
As of Friday Sea Robin expected to restore flow Saturday (Feb.21) on its 16-inch West Cameron 580 lateral, pending favorableweather conditions. The force majeure implemented Jan. 27 whenrepairs on a leak began (see Daily GPI, Jan. 29) was to be releasedwhen the lateral was declared in service, Sea Robin said.
San Juan Prices Hit Hardest in General Softening
Cash prices for the weekend were down almost across the boardFriday, succumbing to mild weather and lower weekend demand.However, noting the late rebound in the Henry Hub futures contract,a marketer thinks that set the stage for a modest rally in cashnumbers today. He looks for Midcontinent pipes to move back up intothe low $2.10s.
March Futures Go Into Weekend Below $2.20
The March Nymex futures contract fell another 1.9 cents to$2.198 Friday, as traders continued the falloff in prices theystarted on Thursday. “This was not a case of traders gunning forstops, where they try to push the contract under support hoping thecontract will fall even more. This was simply an extension ofThursday,” a broker said.
AGL Loses Large Buyer Discounting Privileges
The Georgia Public Service Commission has refused to approvethree industrial supply deals signed by Atlanta Gas Light becausethe LDC filed to become a part of Georgia’s competitive gas market.
FERC Examines Procedures
Fearing that it might be growing dusty and staid, FERC earlierthis month kicked off a three-month, all-encompassing review of itsprocedures and processes “to try and keep current with the times,including a very changing energy marketplace that we regulate,”Chairman James Hoecker said.