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APGA Joins Other Associations Urging PHMSA To Change Control Room Management Proposal
On October 7, APGA joined the American Gas Association, American Petroleum Institute, the Interstate Natural Gas Pipeline Association of America and the Association of Oil Pipelines in a joint letter to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) urging PHMSA to withdraw its September 12 proposed rule on Control Room Management. The Associations support reasonable regulations to ensure pipeline controllers have the training and tools needed to safely operate pipelines but the rule proposed by PHMSA went far beyond what is reasonable even for transmission pipeline controllers. It is particularly unreasonable considering PHMSA defines a controller as anyone who can see data transmitted to an office or computer, such as gate station flows or pressures, even if there is no control room, no capability to control the operation of the pipeline and monitoring the pipeline is not the person’s primary duty. A survey of APGA’s Operations and Safety Committee found that about 9% of public gas system employees were controllers according to PHMSA’s definition, with some systems having more than 80% of employees subject to the rule. ...
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Mark Your Calendars for the October 16 Operations and Safety Teleconference
APGA will conduct a one-hour free teleconference for APGA members at 2 pm EDT Thursday, October 16, to help members understand two recently proposed regulations on Distribution Integrity Management Programs (DIMP) and control room management. The DIMP rule will affect all APGA members and has been described as the most significant rule affecting distribution operators since the Federal government first began regulating pipeline safety in 1970. Mike Israni of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will review the elements of the proposed rule followed by questions and answers from teleconference participants. APGA’s John Erickson will then review APGA’s position on the rule and describe how APGA member systems can file individual comments with PHMSA supporting APGA’s position.
The second part of the teleconference will cover the proposed control room management rule. ...
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EIA Weekly Storage Report
Here is the weekly EIA Summary Report issued Thursday, October 9, 2008. A 88 Bcf increase has been reported.
EIA Storage Report Highlights for Friday, October 3, 2008:
Summary
Working gas in storage was 3,198 Bcf as of Friday, October 3, 2008, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 88 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 117 Bcf less than last year at this time and 69 Bcf above the 5-year average of 3,129 Bcf. In the East Region, stocks were 76 Bcf above the 5-year average following net injections of 44 Bcf. Stocks in the Producing Region were 23 Bcf below the 5-year average of 890 Bcf after a net injection of 35 Bcf. Stocks in the West Region were 16 Bcf above the 5-year average after a net addition of 9 Bcf. At 3,198 Bcf, total working gas is within the 5-year historical range.
Plan to Attend the 2009 Market Development Conference
The 2009 Market Development Conference (MDC) is scheduled for March 23-25, 2009, in Atlanta, Georgia. An overviews of the MDC program is shown below and the registration form for the conference is available now.
The 2009 MDC will be co-sponsored by the APGA, ANGA, PEG, FNGA, FGU, FMNGA, MGAG, Texas Gas Association and the Tennessee Gas Association. Additional state associations are considering joining as co-sponsors. Co-sponsors will work together to plan and promote the 2009 MDC to their respective members.
The conference starts with the annual planning meeting of the M&S Committee from 8:00 am to noon on March 23. The MDC program begins at 1:30 pm on March 23 and ends at noon on March 25.
Highlights of the program include:
Outlook for Natural Gas Prices
Aubrey Hilliard, Texican Horizon Energy Marketing will explain current prices and forecast future prices.
All-Attendee Interactive Roundtable Discussion - Going Green and Increasing Gas Load with Natural Gas Vehicles
Mark Smith, American Honda Motor Co. ...
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REGISTER NOW! APGA Gas Utility Management Conference
REGISTER NOW!
APGA GAS UTILITY MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
Hyatt Regency, Wichita, Kansas
November 11 & 12, 2008
The deadline for registration for the APGA Gas Utility Management Conference (GUMC) is fast approaching! The conference addresses some of the most important issues facing the natural gas industry. This is a must attend for public gas system managers and will feature the expertise of industry leaders in addition to giving you the tools to help your system run better and grow.
Take a look at our agenda and register soon. Space is limited. You can fax your registration form to 202-464-0246 and call the Hyatt Regency in Wichita, Kansas at 316-293-1966 or 800-233-1234 to make hotel reservations. Be sure to mention “American Public Gas Association” when making reservations to get the group rate. ...
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October 3, 2008
FERC CHAIR PRESSES FOR “CEASE AND DESIST” AUTHORITY
FERC Chairman Kelliher has informed California Senator Feinstein in a letter that it would be helpful for the Commission to have “cease and desist” authority, which it does not currently have, in dealing with market manipulation in a timely fashion. Currently, FERC would have to apply to a district court to get a stay of bad acts in the market place, which would be more time-consuming than if FERC could proceed independently to prevent gaming in the market. The FERC Chairman noted that other agencies have such authority. See PDF For Full Report
PRICES FALL, PRODUCTION CUT, COMPANIES DEVALUED
Oil prices are sinking as demand is destroyed worldwide by economic slowdown. As the financial crisis craters the stock markets, energy companies have been the biggest losers. Four US gas producers in two weeks have announced capital spending cuts next year. The latest was independent gas producer SandRidge Energy, which will cut its 2009 drilling budget in half next year, to $1 billion, in reaction to falling natural gas prices. SandRidge also trimmed its 2009 production guidance by 11%.
See PDF for full report.
See PDF
EIA Weekly Storage Report
Here is the weekly EIA Summary Report issued Thursday, October 2, 2008. A 87 Bcf increase has been reported.
EIA Storage Report Highlights for Friday, September 26, 2008:
Summary
Working gas in storage was 3,110 Bcf as of Friday, September 26, 2008, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 87 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 137 Bcf less than last year at this time and 50 Bcf above the 5-year average of 3,060 Bcf. In the East Region, stocks were 74 Bcf above the 5-year average following net injections of 51 Bcf. Stocks in the Producing Region were 39 Bcf below the 5-year average of 871 Bcf after a net injection of 24 Bcf. Stocks in the West Region were 15 Bcf above the 5-year average after a net addition of 12 Bcf. At 3,110 Bcf, total working gas is within the 5-year historical range.
Mark Your Calendars for the October 16 Operations and Safety Teleconference
APGA will conduct a one hour free teleconference for APGA members at 2 pm EDT Thursday October 16, to help members understand two recently proposed regulations on Distribution Integrity Management Programs (DIMP) and control room management. The DIMP rule will affect all APGA members and has been described as the most significant rule affecting distribution operators since the Federal government first began regulating pipeline safety in 1970. Mike Israni of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will review the elements of the proposed rule followed by questions and answers from teleconference participants. APGA’s John Erickson will then review APGA’s position on the rule and describe how APGA member systems can file individual comments with PHMSA supporting APGA’s position.
The second part of the teleconference will cover the proposed control room management rule. ...
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APGA Speaks at the New Mexico Common Ground Alliance Conference
On September 29, APGA’s Vice President, Operations John Erickson provided an overview of the proposed Distribution Integrity Management Programs (DIMP) rule in Albuquerque, NM at the New Mexico Regional Common Ground Alliance Conference. In his remarks John reviewed the seven elements of the DIMP rule and walked through a example of assessing one of the eight listed threats – external corrosion – following the process that has been developed for the model DIMP plan development software that is now being developed by the APGA Security and Integrity Foundation (SIF). The software will be demonstrated for the first time on November 12 at the APGA Gas Utility Management Conference in Wichita, KS.
John also described the results of the meetings between APGA, AGA and the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives (NAPSR) in Boise, ID on September 23. The state regulators shared many of the same concerns as APGA and AGA about provisions in the proposed regulation that went beyond the recommendation made by the government/industry/public DIMP working group in 2005. ...
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Continuing Resolution Signed Into Law, Drops Ban On Domestic Offshore Drilling
Over the last two weeks Congress passed and the President signed a continuing resolution (C.R.) that keeps the government funded through the beginning of March 2009. This legislation included some of APGA’s legislative priorities. As a part of this bill, Congress dropped its 28-year ban on exploration and production for energy resources in the outer continental shelf (OCS) off the east and west coasts of the U.S.
The legislation will not include language to extend the moratoria on exploration and production of oil and natural gas in areas of the OCS off the East and West coasts of the U.S. The bill also repeals the ban on drilling for shale resources in areas such as Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and other western states. APGA had sent letters to House and Senate Leadership urging that the ban not be included in the C.R. The bill does keep the ban in place on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. However, removing the ban does not mean drilling in these areas will begin anytime soon. While Congress has lifted the ban for now, these new areas are not included in the Dept. of Interior’s current five-year leasing plan, which does not expire until 2012. ...
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