NGI Archives

For now, Nova Gas Transmission continues to handle about 80%(4.5 Tcf in 1997, or 12.3 Bcf/d) of Canadian gas on its provincialgathering grid because Alberta remains both the biggest producerand center of growth in output. But expectations of serious growthin British Columbia showed clearly when the National Energy Boardvisited the province’s resource development frontier of Fort St.John for regional hearings on the Alliance Pipeline Project

An important juncture in the proposed $5 billion merger ofPacific Enterprises and Enova Corp. is expected this week when anadministrative law judge with the California Public UtilitiesCommission recommends a proposed decision to the five-memberregulatory body. The CPUC is then expected to act by the end ofMarch. No one is expecting the proposed decision or the ultimatefinal one by the state to turn down the marriage of the holdingcompanies for Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas andElectric Co., but it is unclear whether the conditions placed onthe deal will make it financially unattractive for one or both ofthe companies

CNG Energy Services of Pittsburgh signed a three-year contractwith Ormet Corp., one the nation’s largest aluminum producers andsuppliers of aluminum products, to provide gas management servicefor eight Ormet facilities in the United States. The facilitiesconsume about 12 Bcf/year

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.

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

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

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

El Paso said effective March 1 it will offer four dailyscheduling cyles instead of two, additional reduction codes,enhanced pooling, enhanced bumping for firm shippers and extra helpmatching up DUNS numbers at certain points on the line. It alsowill modify the procedures used to balance pools. See the PassPortbulletin board for details

Customer choice for all Pennsylvania natural gas customers couldbecome an option within the next few months, and the law thatemerges from the months of statehouse wrangling could add directionto unbundling activities in other states.