Severe U.S. winter leaves questions for gas, power markets
Natural gas pipelines and power utilities across the United States struggled for several weeks to keep lights on and homes warm through the coldest winter in decades, but it may take many months for the cost and the fallout of the so-called "polar vortex" to work through the energy chain. As sub-freezing temperatures spread in January and February, spot natural gas prices spiked at many gas delivery points in the Midwest, Northeast and New York, pushing wholesale power prices above $100 per megawatt-hour for days at a time. Customers will soon receive gas and electric bills, reflecting the higher cost of gas in January. In unregulated power markets, January bills will present a "double whammy," said Nick Akins, chief executive of American Electric Power Co, one of the largest U.S.
Connaughton Signs Northeast Gateway Deepwater Port License
Sean T. Connaughton signed Excelerate Energy’s Northeast Gateway Energy Bridge Deepwater Port license today in Washington DC. Excelerate will build the Northeast Gateway deepwater port approximately 18 miles east of Boston, Massachusetts. Spectra Energy, formerly Duke Energy, will build a 16-mile subsea pipeline from its existing HubLine to the deepwater port site to transfer natural gas from the vessels into New England’s gas pipeline network. Excelerate Energy will construct and own the deepwater port, which will be operated by Skaugen Offshore and will accommodate Excelerate’s proprietary Energy Bridge Regasification Vessel (EBRV) fleet operated by Exmar NV. The port’s infrastructure will feature two submerged turret loading buoys supplied by Advanced Production and Loading.
Agnes Candies Completes First Saturation Job for Spectra Energy
The Deep Marine Technology, Inc. long term leased Agnes Candies Saturation Dive Support Vessel has completed its first job in the Gulf of Mexico. Working for Spectra Energy in 315ft water depth at Main Pass 282, the DPII Agnes Candies vessel, working with a 24hr crew on board, safely and efficiently performed Pipeline Remediation tasks for the Client. The Agnes Candies can be adopted for a large spectrum of work ranging from Repair and Installation to Inspection and Plug and Abandonment. Other possible uses for the vessel include platform repairs; riser, anode, and hot tap installations; subsea tree and valve assistance; and platform and pipeline inspection.
Horizon Offshore Signs Contract in Northeast
Horizon Offshore, Inc. announced that its subsidiary Horizon Offshore Contractors, Inc. signed a contract with Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, an affiliate of Spectra Energy Corp., to lay and bury 16 miles of 24" trunk line, two 18" lateral lines, along with the associated tie-ins and testing of the pipelines. These pipelines will service the Northeast Gateway Deepwater Port being constructed offshore Massachusetts. The work is expected to commence in May 2007 with completion expected by November 2007. The Company will utilize three of its vessels to perform this project: the Lone Star Horizon, Atlantic Horizon and Texas Horizon. The company also said that its current backlog is approximately $300m.
