Dominion Carolina Gas Transmission, LLC - Third-Party Contractor Assistance under CP15-504.

UNITED'STATES'OF'AMERICA' BEFORE'THE' FEDERAL'ENERGY'REGULATORY'COMMISSION' ' Five7Year'Review'of'the'Oil'Pipeline'Index' )' Docket'No.'RM157207000' ' INITIAL'COMMENTS'OF'THE'LIQUIDS'SHIPPERS'GROUP' ! Pursuant!to!the!procedures!established!in!the!Notice!of!Inquiry,!issued!by!the! Federal!Energy!Regulatory!Commission!(FERC!or!Commission)!on!June!30,!2015,!in! the!aboveIreferenced!proceeding!(NOI),1!the!Liquids!Shippers!Group!(LSG)2!hereby! files!initial!comments!on!the!NOI.!!These!comments!are!supported!by!an!affidavit! prepared!by!Ms.!Elizabeth!H.!Crowe,!attached!at!Exhibit!A.!!! The!NOI!seeks!comments!on!the!Commissions!proposal!to!use!an!oil!pipeline! index!adjustment!for!the!next!five!years,!beginning!July!1,!2016,!of!between!plus!2.0! percent!and!plus!2.4!percent,!to!be!added!to!the!Producer!Price!Index!for!Finished! Goods!(PPIIFG).!!The!range!is!due!to!the!fact!that!the!Commission!stated!in!the!NOI!it! did!not!have!complete!Form!No.!6!data.!!! Interests!of!the!LSG.!!Each!of!the!members!of!the!LSG!is!a!crude!oil!and/or! natural!gas!liquids!producer!and/or!marketer!in!the!United!States!and/or!Canada,!and!a! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! 1 !Five%Year)Review)of)the)Oil)Pipeline)Index,!Notice!of!Inquiry,!151!FERC!!61,278! (2015).! 2 !The!LSG!members!participating!in!this!proceeding!include!the!following! companies:!!Anadarko!Energy!Services!Company;!Apache!Corporation;!Cenovus! Energy!Marketing!Services!Ltd.;!ConocoPhillips!Company;!Devon!Gas!Services,!L.P.;! Encana!Marketing!(USA)!Inc.;!Marathon!Oil!Company;!Murphy!Exploration!&! Production!Company!!USA;!Noble!Energy,!Inc.;!Pioneer!Natural!Resources!USA,!Inc.;! Statoil!Marketing!&!Trading!(US)!Inc.;!and!WPX!Energy!Marketing,!LLC.! 1!! ! shipper!on!one!or!more!crude!oil!and/or!liquids!pipeline!in!the!United!States.!!The!LSG! is!an!ad!hoc!group!that!was!formed!in!2013!for!the!purpose!of!participating!in! regulatory!proceedings!before!the!Commission!in!order!to!protect!their!common! interests!in!assuring!just!and!reasonable!rates,!terms,!and!conditions!of!service!on!oil! pipelines.3!! I.' STATEMENT'OF'POSITION' ' The!LSG!requests!the!Commission!to!institute!an!investigation!regarding!impacts! of!the!indexing!methodology!for!interstate!oil!pipelines!in!todays!regulatory!and! commercial!environment,!including!the!exploration!of!other!alternatives!to!indexing! that!would!satisfy!statutory!directives.!!Such!a!review!should!be!undertaken!before! allowing!further!indexed!increases!in!excess!of!the!PPIIFG!to!oil!pipeline!rates!to!take! effect.!!! In!the!event!that!the!Commission!undertakes!such!an!investigation,!as!a! commercial!accommodation!and!compromise,!given!that!there!are!many!contracts! today!that!reference!the!Commissions!index!adjustment,!the!Commission!should! consider!allowing!an!indexed!rate!change!equal!only!to!the!...