JOINT STUDY TO ASSESS U.S. GAS DELIVERABILITY

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy, and Oklahoma Gov. Henry Bellmon plan a joint project to analyze natural gas deliverability in Oklahoma.

FERC Commissioner Jerry J. Langdon, who heads a FERC deliverability task force, said the Oklahoma study is the first phase in the task force's evaluation from wellhead to burnertip of U.S. ability to meet peak gas demand.

The study will examine how data complied separately by FERC's engineering branch, DOE's Energy Information Administration, and certain Oklahoma energy agencies can be combined into an analysis of natural gas deliverability for the state.

Data examined will include gas transportation capacity into and out of Oklahoma and production and consumption in the state. The study is to be completed by late summer.

Langdon said, "This model will be only one aspect of the task force's efforts to evaluate natural gas deliverability. The task force will examine existing natural gas data bases, most of which were designed prior to many changes that have occurred since the early 1980s, to see if that information is relevant or useful to participants in today's market based regulatory environment."

FERC Chairman Martin Allday established the task force last winter at Langdon's suggestion, following the December 1989 cold snap that squeezed gas supplies in several parts of the country.

STUDY GOAL

Langdon said, "One of the most important goals of the task force is to streamline the analysis of deliverability. This approach should be useful to consumers, industry participants, and the financial community by providing clearer signals in today's marketplace.

"With clearer signals, the market can function even more efficiently on its own, with business decisions being based on improved, reliable deliverability data.

"The task force will not question the abundant resource base for natural gas, nor will it attempt to predict supply and demand. Those decisions can best be made by participants in the marketplace.

"What the task force is examining is the availability and reliability of data and the industry's ability to use that data to describe how much gas can be produced into and delivered through the entire national pipeline system or parts of the system during peak periods."