NGI All News Access

ConocoPhillips has begun a television and print advertising campaign in Alaska that opposes the state’s plan to revise oil and natural gas taxes — less than a month after the oil major appeared to endorse the proposed legislation. The tax revision plan, proposed by Gov. Frank Murkowski, are part of a two-prong strategy to develop the long-awaited natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to the Lower 48 (see Daily GPI, Feb. 23).

Outlining the previously reported capacity agreement with the developers of the proposed Rockies Express Pipeline, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) announced that its 10-year deal commits MMS to transport more than 18 Bcf of gas per year (or 50 MMcf/d) from the pipe’s origin in Wyoming.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners said subsidiary Gulf South Pipeline Co. LP has enlarged its expansion plans for its East Texas and Mississippi pipeline projects after signing binding long-term agreements with shippers. The expansions will bring 1.5 Bcf/d of East Texas gas production from the Carthage Hub to pipeline connections in Perryville, LA, and Jackson, MS.

A former natural gas trader for Reliant Energy on Tuesday received the maximum 57-month prison sentence for providing false trading data to index publishers in 2000. Jerry Futch pleaded guilty last year, but he had asked the court to throw out his indictment last month (see Daily GPI, Feb. 15).

A former employee of ex-Enron Corp. CFO Andrew Fastow testified Tuesday that backdating company documents within some of the company’s special purpose entities (SPEs) was so common it was jokingly called “time travel” in the office. Chris Loehr, one of the few government witnesses not under indictment to testify at the trial of Enron founder Kenneth Lay and ex-CEO Jeffrey Skilling, appeared to bolster Fastow’s claims about financial shenanigans within LJM partnerships, which were used to keep Enron’s poorly performing assets off the balance sheet.

The proposed Gros-Cacouna liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Quebec got a much-needed boost Tuesday as project sponsor Petro-Canada reached an agreement with Russia’s Gazprom to proceed with initial engineering design for a $1.5 billion Baltic gas liquefaction plant near St. Petersburg, Russia.

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in Oregon received a boost last week when the Port of St. Helens along the lower Columbia River approved a 99-year lease on 145 acres in Clackamas County for the proposed Port Westward LNG project. Some of the that private investors were ready to pull the plug on the proposed 700 MMcf/d capacity terminal last month when negotiations with a private landowner broke down.

Industry advocates agree that a massive transition to a “hydrogen energy economy” will begin with utility companies, but they disagree on whether to start with transportation or with power generation.

In a message to shippers Tuesday, Southern Natural President Jim Yardley highlighted the pipeline’s winter achievements following significant damage from last fall’s hurricanes. He said all firm transportation and storage service requests and nearly all interruptible requests were honored. A system-wide operational flow order (OFO) was required on only one gas day. And gas supply flowing through the offshore system in the Gulf of Mexico and the Toca, LA, compressor station, both of which were damaged heavily by Hurricane Katrina, is at or above pre-Katrina levels. Working storage inventory also is at historically high levels and likely will end the winter at levels well above last year, Yardley said. Meanwhile, repair work is expected to be completed at the end of April on remaining damaged laterals in the Gulf and on damaged compressor engines at Toca. Repairs to the Olga compressor station, southeast of New Orleans, have not been made.