El Paso implemented a systemwide Strained Operating Condition (SOC) for Wednesday’s gas day, setting the tolerance for negative daily imbalances at 10%. Linepack on Tuesday afternoon, when the SOC was announced, was running 100 MMcf lower than the day before, the pipeline said. Its Washington Ranch storage facility continued to experience maximum withdrawals. “Maximum deliverability from Washington Ranch continues to fall with declining inventory,” El Paso said, adding that since July 10, maximum withdrawal rates had dropped by more than 20%.

Citing “low linepack on upstream pipelines and drafting of [its] system,” Southwest Gas declared a Stage 3 OFO, effective Wednesday until further notice. The Las Vegas-based LDC told transportation customers to ensure that scheduled supplies match or exceed gas usage for each day of the OFO. “The daily operating window has been reduced to 0% and negative daily nominations for imbalance paybacks from Southwest to customers have been eliminated until further notice,” Southwest said. It said El Paso‘s SOC (see above) was a reason for the OFO.

Florida Gas Transmission kept an Overage Alert Day for market-area customers in place for a third day Wednesday, but further tightened the tolerance for negative daily imbalances from 20% to 15%.

Texas Eastern said currently scheduled maintenance will restrict its ability to absorb due-shipper imbalances or allow for due-pipe imbalance resolution from Thursday through Tuesday, and it will not allow any nominations that create such imbalances during this period. “Due to pipe replacements throughout August and into September, Texas Eastern may have limited operational flexibility to manage imbalances, dependent upon system conditions on a day to day basis,” it said.

Besides higher than normal pressures, Southern expects a reduction of about 35,000 Dth/d in interruptible capacity in the West of Bienville Group when it performs a pigging operation Thursday on the 14-inch diameter Logansport Line west of Bienville Compressor Station in North Louisiana. Southern also said it will not be able to accept flows from the JW Gathering and Lucky Field No. 1 receipt points during the pig run, which is expected to take about 12 hours.

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