NGI The Weekly Gas Market Report

Although a lot has been made of California’s gas pipeline and supply constraints, Southern California Gas Co.’s anti-bypass tariff, which has been discouraging the development of new pipelines — particularly Questar’s Southern Trails project — still has not received much political scrutiny.

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline and Algonquin Gas Transmission last week were awarded preliminary determinations (PD) on non-environmental issues by FERC to build their companion pipeline extensions that will provide Maritimes’ shippers greater access to northeastern markets via Algonguin, as well as will give new and existing Algonquin customers access to a new supply source-Atlantic Canadian gas-on Maritimes.

Calpine announced it will purchase 35 model 7FB and 11 model 7FA gas-fired turbines from GE Power Systems, bringing its total order currently to 203 turbines, which when operated in a combined-cycle application represents 50,000 MW of baseload capacity.

©Copyright, 2001 Intelligence Press. All rights reserved. Thepreceding news report may Not be republished Or redistributed, in wholeOr in part, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press .

With its wholesale energy and natural gas distribution segments leading the charge, Reliant Energy Inc.’s first-quarter earnings easily beat analysts’ consensus estimates and the company now feels confident that it can grow its bottom line for all of 2001 above and beyond previous projections of 10% to 12%.

©Copyright, 2001 Intelligence Press. All rights reserved. Thepreceding news report may Not be republished Or redistributed, in wholeOr in part, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press .

It’s liquidity for energy markets, not ownership of transmission assets, that California should be focusing its efforts on as the state grapples with its ongoing energy crisis, according to David Sokol, chairman and chief executive officer of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.

Questar Pipeline Co. said it is moving forward with its Southern Trails pipeline project, following a deal with Duke Energy for the entire 80,000 Dth/d of firm transportation capacity on the eastern segment (east of California) of the 705-mile pipeline, a converted oil line which runs from Blanco, NM, to Long Beach, CA. However, the 120,000 Dth/d of firm capacity on the western segment will go unused until Southern California Gas’s tariff is changed, a spokesman said.

Development of clean coal and Arctic oil and gas are running high on the Bush Administration’s list, according to FY 2002 budget proposals released last Monday, which followed on statements by Vice President Dick Cheney.