NGI All News Access

A change in the timing and location of North Carolina’s powergeneration needs has forced Carolina Power & Light (CP&L)and Southern Natural Gas Co. to put a hold on their PalmettoInterstate Pipeline and consider other pipeline alternatives. Thecompanies said yesterday they have suspended ongoing routeselection and survey activities for Palmetto and are analyzing twocompeting pipeline projects.

In less than two months, BP Amoco Canada has succeeded inunloading all of its crude oil producing properties in Canada in aneffort to lower costs and focus on natural gas, gas liquids andpetrochemicals. The company sold the high-cost heavy oil operationsto Canadian Natural Resources and Penn West Petroleum for C$1.6billion. The assets include five major fields, which currentlyproduce a total of 54,300 b/d of oil and liquids and 75 MMcf/d ofgas. About 250 employees will be affected by the sale, but many areexpected to sign on with the two buyers, said Dan Kane, spokesmanfor BP Amoco Canada.

Thunder Creek Gas Services LLC, a joint venture of KN Energy andDevon Energy, has completed construction on a major, new gatheringtrunkline designed to meet the expanding production in Wyoming’sPowder River Basin, which is being touted as the “most active”coal-bed methane play in the nation.

Vector Energy Corp., created just over a year ago through oiland gas asset acquisitions, is leaving drill bits behind in favorof dot-coms and ISPs. “Nobody cares about oil and gas,” said VectorFounder and President Sam Skipper. Over the next several yearsVector will be either divesting its oil and gas properties ormerging them into another company, he said. Meanwhile it’s headingfor Internet territory, with a letter of intent to acquire onepublicly-held Internet Service Provider (ISP) and promises of anagreement with another with 8,000 subscribers.

Wednesday marked the first time in a week that double-digitmoves were nowhere to be found in the cash market. Most pointsregistered small gains of 2 to 5 cents, feeding off a strongfutures screen and a bullish American Gas Association (AGA) storagereport of a 26 Bcf injection.

Speculation around the much anticipated storage report continuedto run rampant yesterday on trading floors across the natural gasindustry and that coupled with steady fund buying was enough tolift the futures market higher for the third day in a row. TheSeptember contract raced off to a fast start, but was unable toretest the $2.72 high set last Thursday. After notching a $2.66high trade around 10:30 EST the prompt month was left to chopsideways before eventually settling up 4.4 cents at $2.642.

CMS Energy Corp. said two new liquefied natural gas (LNG)shipments will be received at its CMS Trunkline LNG complex at LakeCharles, LA, in September. The shipments are being delivered by CMSMarketing, Services and Trading, and by Duke Energy Corp.

The state of New Jersey, scene of a massive natural gas pipelineexplosion five years ago, has launched an attack on Transco’sMarketLink project – which had no connection with the blast -demanding more stringent safety requirements on interstatepipelines and additional proof there is a need for added pipelinecapacity.

FERC’s attempt at a “Solomonic solution” to the lingering feudover the function of Sea Robin Pipeline — dividing the offshoresystem in two, with the smaller part being declared transportationand the larger section found to be gathering-apparently has failedmiserably. Both pipelines and their customers have cited shortfallswith the decision and are seeking rehearing. If the Sea Robinruling is upheld by FERC on rehearing, the case — which has beenpending since 1995 — would be headed back to the courts for asecond time.