NW Natural Gas Co., Portland, Ore., won approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to provide storage services for the interstate gas market. NW Natural will use surplus storage capacity at its depleted fields near Mist, Ore., 50 miles northwest of Portland. NW Natural is negotiating with four potential interstate storage customers.
The Canadian National Energy Board has invited public comment until June 27 on the environmental aspects of an application by Westcoast Energy Inc. to extend the Grizzy Raw Gas Transmission System and to construct the Weejay Lateral in British Columbia and Alberta. Westcoast applied to construct 108.5 km of 16-in. pipeline extending the Grizzly Raw Gas Transmission System. Westcoast also proposed to construct 6.3 km of 10-in. pipeline, to be known as the Weejey Lateral, from a well site in British Columbia to a tie-in point on the proposed Grizzy Extension Pipeline.
Gateway Energy Corp., Houston, said wholly owned subsidiary Gateway Offshore Pipeline Co. started transportation services on its Pirates' Beach and Shipwreck offshore pipeline systems for Houston Exploration Co., Stone Energy Corp., and Whiting Petroleum Corp. The pipelines carry 20,000 Mcfd of gas and 750 b/d of crude and condensate.
Lukoil-Arctic-Tanker, a subsidiary of the Russian JSC Lukoil, has acquired a controlling stake in North Sea Shipping in Arkhangel'sk. North Sea Shipping transports cargoes to the Arctic region. LUKOIL plans to use North Sea Shipping vessels to deliver equipment for the development of oil fields in Timan-Pechora Province and the Ob River Bay.
PetroChina Co. Ltd. started trial operation of a major natural gas pipeline in northwestern China's Qinghai and Gansu provinces in early May. Full operation is expected in October. The pipeline runs 953 km from Sebei gas field in Qinghai to terminate in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province. The pipeline has throughput of 2 billion cu m/year. The gas is for industrial and residential consumption in the two provinces. PetroChina signed industrial gas sales contracts totaling 73 million cu m/year.