US Henry Hub natgas operator lifts force majeure

NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The operator of Henry Hub, the benchmark trading point in Louisiana for natural gas futures contracts, said Monday it rescinded a force majeure declared last week after compressor repairs had been completed.

"Effective 11:00 a.m. (Central time), January 26, 2009, Sabine is rescinding its currently effective declaration of force majeure issued on January 21, 2009, for all receipts requiring compression through the Henry Hub," operator Sabine Pipe Line LLC said in a website posting.

Henry Hub, the official delivery point for New York Mercantile natural gas futures in Erath, Louisiana, provides access to more than a dozen interstate and intrastate pipeline interconnects.

Last Wednesday, Sabine declared force majeure at Henry Hub to repair a compressor outage at its North Booster Station.

The repairs, which were originally expected to be completed within 24 hours, reduced compression capabilities by 20 percent, but firm transportation services were not expected to be affected.

Sabine, a unit of oil major Chevron Corp (CVX.N), operates a 131-mile (210-km) pipeline that transports natural gas between Erath, Louisiana, and Port Arthur, Texas. (Reporting by Joe Silha; Editing by Christian Wiessner)