US gas exec calls for government aid to help recover from storms

Washington (Platts)--6Oct2005

A senior US natural gas industry executive told a Senate hearing Thursday
that the federal government needs to take hands-on control of the industry's
recovery from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the US Gulf Coast region.
     Speaking on behalf of the Interstate Natural Gas Assn of America at a
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Chris Helms, president
of Merrillville, Indiana-based NiSource's pipeline group, called for the
federal government to co-ordinate repair activities, saying that natural gas
companies are currently competing for the same resources such as helicopters,
boats. 
     "We need an agency like [the US Dept of Energy] to act as a clearing
house," Helms said, adding that the "short-term imperative is repairing
infrastructure as quickly as possible. That means expediting permits and
approvals for repair work." He also called on the federal government to
provide "some forbearance from legal restrictions."
     Helms said Rita damaged pipelines and processing plants much more than
Katrina and he anticipates a shortage of gas this winter if production flow is
not restored along the Gulf. 
     "The twin hurricanes have resulted in extraordinary damage and
extraordinary measures are needed to get systems repaired," Helms said.
                                      ---Bill Holland, bill_holland@platts.com

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