Anadarko: Force Majeure On Independence Hub Gas

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Dow Jones Newswires

HOUSTON, April 10, 2008 (Dow Jones Newswires)

A force majeure has been declared at a massive U.S. Gulf of Mexico natural-gas facility following the discovery of a pipeline leak.

Force majeure on natural-gas deliveries from the Independence Hub was invoked Wednesday, said John Christiansen, a spokesman for Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC), the project's operator.

Companies often invoke the force majeure clause in supply agreements if they can't make deliveries due to reasons beyond their control.

Enterprise Products Partners LP, the operator of the 134-mile pipeline that has the leak, was a party to the force majeure declaration as part of its agreement with the producers established during project negotiations, said Rick Rainey, an Enterprise spokesman. The company's force majeure declaration requires Enterprise to continually update Independence Hub producers on the status of pipeline repairs.

On Wednesday, Enterprise said repairs could take anywhere from one week to one month.

The production outage at Independence Hub, which accounts for almost 10% of gas supplies from the U.S. Gulf, sent natural gas futures soaring to 27-month highs Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Natural gas for May delivery closed up 1.9 cents at $10.075 a million British thermal units on the Nymex after hitting a high of $10.314.

Other partners in Independence Hub include Devon Energy Corp., Eni SpA and StatoilHydro.

HOUSTON, April 10, 2008 (Dow Jones Newswires)


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