Gas trading hubs continue to mushroom in the U.S.
The newest project involves a plan by East Ohio Gas Co., Cleveland, and Williams Energy Ventures Inc., Tulsa.
The combine agreed to establish this summer another point on Streamline, the computerized, virtually real time network for cash market natural gas trades that will serve customers in the Midwest, Mid Atlantic, and Northeast.
The new hub will be at Lebanon, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati. That's where six of the nation's largest gas pipelines interconnect, bringing gas from virtually every major U.S. producing area to major East Coast and Midwest markets.
Using Streamline, developed by Williams Energy Ventures, customers such as local gas utilities, interstate pipelines, large end users, and marketers can buy and sell gas at Lebanon.
East Ohio Gas, a unit of Consolidated Natural Gas Co., will operate the 3 bcfd hub.
DEVELOPMENT PLANS
The Lebanon hub will be developed in two phases.
Phase 1, scheduled this summer, will include interconnections with CNG Transmission, ANR, Panhandle Eastern/Texas Eastern, and Texas Gas. Phase 2 interconnects with Columbia Gas and Texas Eastern are scheduled to go on line early this fall.
At the Lebanon hub, Streamline will handle cash market transactions from the time traders enter a buy or sell position, through matching and credit checking, to contract administration and physical delivery at a marketing hub. All trades on the interactive system will preserve traders' anonymity.
Streamline trading is scheduled to begin June 6 at the system's first hub at Carthage, Tex. East Texas Gas Systems, a majority owned affiliate of Union Pacific Fuels Inc., operates the Carthage hub, which operates with 14 pipelines.
Trading is scheduled to begin early this summer at a second hub around Waha, Tex., in the Permian basin. Valero Transmission Co. will operate the Permian basin/Waha hub, which interconnects with eight pipelines.
U.S., CANADIAN SYSTEM
Williams Energy Ventures last year joined with a unit of Westcoast Energy Inc. to develop a computerized system to streamline cash market trading of gas in North America. The system, accessible by personal computer, is known as Streamline in U.S. markets and Natural Gas Exchange in Canadian markets. Trading has begun on the Natural Gas Exchange at the intra-Alberta hub.
The Lebanon hub will be separate from but complementary to the CNG/Sabine center, scheduled to open this summer.
The center, announced in March by CNG Transmission and Texaco Inc's Sabine Pipe Line Co., will introduce the "superhub" concept by facilitating trading at all points along CNG Transmission's six state pipeline system.
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