Natural Gas Week articles from April 2006

Natural Gas Week archives from April 2006

Natural gas weekly spot prices.
April 3, 2006... NATURAL GAS WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 3/28-4/3 Avg. Avg. Apr. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg....

Et tu, Blanco? Gulf lease sale threatened over royalty dispute.
April 3, 2006... The Bayou State and the federal government are lumbering toward a confrontation after Gov. Kathleen Blanco threatened to stop the scheduled August offshore lease sale unless Louisiana gets more oil and gas royalties. "Make no mistake: This...

Beyond open outcry: Nymex pit trading rapidly drawing to close.
April 3, 2006... Whether Nymex floor traders accept it or not, winds of change are threatening to silence open outcry as electronic trading ends decades of tradition. But while some traders say the dynamics of futures market trading will forever change, it...

Friday fall 'momentary' respite; way seen clear to higher ground.
April 3, 2006... Energy futures markets bulls were on the offensive last week, spurring on gains until Friday's healthy pullback. However, many players in the market say the late week sell-off was only a temporary retreat, and indicators suggest that another...

Soaring costs, delays pushing LNG projects into next decade.
April 3, 2006... Soaring costs for engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) services, labor and materials threaten to delay a slew of liquefied natural gas and other gas-related projects around the world, pushing back deliveries of imported gas supplies North...

Acquisition closed.(Late news ...)
April 3, 2006... Acquisition closed: ConocoPhillips has completed its $35.6 billion acquisition of Burlington Resources following approval by Burlington's shareholders on Thursday. With the completion of this transaction, using Dec. 31, 2005, data,...

Shares sale.(Late news ...)
April 3, 2006... Shares sale: The Exploration Co. of Delaware will sell 3 million shares of its stock privately to institutional investment firms. The stock, which will be sold for $10.50/share, is expected to raise about $31.5 million. Proceeds from the sale...

Hiland buys gathering system.(Late news ...)
April 3, 2006... Hiland buys gathering system: In a deal valued at $93 million, Hiland Partners has acquired natural gas gathering assets located in the eastern Oklahoma Arkoma Basin from Enogex Gas Gathering. Included in the deal is about 40,000 horsepower of...

WPS sells stake in pipeline.(Late news ...)
April 3, 2006... WPS sells stake in pipeline: WPS Resources Corp. has sold its one-third interest in Guardian Pipeline to Northern Border Partners in a deal valued at $38.5 million. Guardian Pipeline owns a 143-mile interstate natural gas pipeline running from...

Florida turns to domestic gas for future generation needs.
April 3, 2006... Utilities in Florida had once expected a major portion of their future natural gas supplies to be in the form of LNG, but domestic supplies from growing production in North and East Texas, North Louisiana and Arkansas now appear the better...

Intrastate weekly spot prices.
April 3, 2006... INTRASTATE WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 3/28-4/3 Avg. Avg. Apr. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg. High Low...

Prices and differentials for major hubs and selected city gates.
April 3, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] April 3, 2006 US$/MMBtu, Volume-Weighted SELECTED DAILY DIFFERENTIALS Differential 3/27 3/28 3/29 3/30 3/31 HH-NY +0.52 +0.51 +0.38 +0.33 +0.60 HH-Chicago -0.78 -0.76...

CEO alliance champions access to OCS, but notably mum on ANWR.
April 3, 2006... The CEOs of Anadarko Petroleum and Devon Energy raised their profile in Washington to publicly highlight and personally lobby key congressional leaders on the need for more US natural gas supplies. The move by Anadarko's Jim Hackett and Devon's...

Composite spot wellhead price.
April 3, 2006... COMPOSITE SPOT WELLHEAD PRICE January 2002 to Present ($/MMBtu) Year Jan. Feb. March April May June July August Sept. Oct. 2006 8.20 7.30 6.47 2005 6.05 5.99 6.77 6.99 6.26 6.91 7.50 8.99 11.24...

Corporate consolidation seen dominating 2005 M&A activity.
April 3, 2006... Last year turned out to be the biggest for global oil and gas mergers and acquisitions since 1998, thanks in large part to a gassy North American deal announced in December. According to a review compiled by the firms of John S. Herold and...

Natural gas futures.
April 3, 2006... NATURAL GAS FUTURES Trading Dates: March 27 - March 31, 2006 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Last Volume Last Volume Last...

Southwest takes center stage in push to expand capacity, storage.
April 3, 2006... An abundance of natural gas supply won't help the burgeoning Southwest energy markets, or other parts of the West if the market remains hamstrung by tight pipeline capacity limiting access to those natural gas supplies. Jeff Wright, chief...

North American weekly gas storage.
April 3, 2006... NORTH AMERICAN WEEKLY GAS STORAGE (Billion Cubic Feet) Mar. 24 Mar. 17 Weekly Year Yr. Ago 5-year 5-year Region Week Week Change Ago Change Average Change US East 861 ...

Natural gas bidweek prices.
April 3, 2006... NATURAL GAS BIDWEEK PRICES Flow Dates: 4/1-4/30 April Chg. Prev. Price Avg. from Bid- Point $/MMBtu Prev. High Low...

NGW's monthly weighted averages.
April 3, 2006... NGW'S MONTHLY WEIGHTED AVERAGES $/MMBtu Price Point Mar.'06 Feb.'06 Jan.'06 Dec.'05 Nov.'05 Gulf Coast ANR SE 6.66 7.35 8.40 12.72 9.33 Col. Gulf - Erath 6.83 7.60...

Gas demand in West May soon rise with outages.(CURRENT)
April 3, 2006... Warmer weather, nuclear and coal plants outages, poor hydro conditions and growing power demand could spike natural gas power generation this summer. And the annual summer reliability outlook, expected in May, will likely address these...

Calpine sells interest in natgas power plant on Yucatan Peninsula.(CURRENT)
April 3, 2006... Calpine has sold its 45% interests in an incomplete gas-fired power plant in Mexico for $43 million, as part of the company's restructuring efforts. The Valladolid III plant is under construction on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Calpine...

Spot electricity trading.(CURRENT)
April 3, 2006... SPOT ELECTRICITY TRADING Trading Dates: March 27-March 31, 2006 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Avg. Price Avg. Price This Last Year Month POINT ...

Comparative fuel prices.(CURRENT)
April 3, 2006... COMPARATIVE FUEL PRICES (Cash Market) April 3, 2006 APPALACHIA Appalachian Pool Ohio/Big Sandy River Coal Dlvd (Util) $54.00/ton $7.51/MMBtu $2.25/MMBtu EAST COAST New...

Pipeline operator files protest over Cove Point expansion plan.(Regional Market Roundup)
April 3, 2006... Dominion's plan to expand capacity at its Cove Point, Maryland, LNG facility has hit a hurdle, as local pipeline operator Washington Gas and Light has filed a protest with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The matter came up at a...

Baker Hughes rig count.(Regional Market Roundup)
April 3, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT Week Ended Mar. 31 Rotary Rigs Current Previous Year Week Week Ago Total US 1,576 1,571...

Gas price trends.(Regional Market Roundup)
April 3, 2006... GAS PRICE TRENDS ($/MMBtu) ROCKY NEW CALIFORNIA MTNS MEXICO South North Apr 3, 2006 Inter (well) - - 5.59 5.52 Intra...

Stealth finds coalbed methane growth potential in Nova Scotia.(Canadian Markets)
April 3, 2006... Most of Canada's known coalbed methane (CBM) deposits are located in Alberta, with some in British Columbia, but these unconventional resources aren't restricted to the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The Maritimes province of Nova Scotia...

Major Petronas find could mean jump in Malaysian LNG capacity.(World Roundup)
April 3, 2006... A large gas discovery by Malaysian state Petronas at its PC4 field in Block 310, offshore Sarawak, could facilitate expansion of the Malaysian LNG facility. The well encountered a colossal "single gas column of 630 meters," according to...

Canadian price report.(World Roundup)
April 3, 2006... CANADIAN PRICE REPORT ($U.S. per MMBtu/$Can per Gigajoule) BRITISH COLUMBIA Huntingdon/ Kingsgate/ Total Sumas ...

Natgas bears looking for price breaks in all the wrong places.(World Roundup)
April 3, 2006... Market bears should heed Roseanne Roseannadanna's warning: "It's always something." If just under 1,700 Bcf in storage at the end of March can translate into a $7.223 April settlement, then it's likely something will always be around the...

Natural gas weekly spot prices.
April 10, 2006... NATURAL GAS WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 4/4-4/10 Avg. Avg. Apr. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg....

Exchanges ok deal on contracts; could hasten open outcry demise.
April 10, 2006... The New York Mercantile Exchange, the world's largest energy futures bourse, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the world's largest and most diverse financial exchange, announced last week a 10-year agreement under which Nymex will start...

Demand stoked by steady climb in natural gas-fired generation.
April 10, 2006... Even taking into consideration the launch of more efficient gas-fired electricity generation over the last few years, overall demand for natural gas is undoubtedly on the rise--especially summer demand--despite the notion that increased demand...

Gas traders eye crude, gasoline, weather as natgas market drivers.
April 10, 2006... Despite soaring crude oil and gasoline futures prices last week, market bears over in the Nymex natural gas pit appeared to be reemerging by week's end. And while there still remains an underlying connection between natural gas and the rest of...

EIA: Gulf production declines offset by onshore gains in US.
April 10, 2006... The Energy Information Administration has released new data indicating that US onshore gas production has picked up steadily over the last year, helping to offset the effect of lingering hurricane-related outages in the Gulf of Mexico. ...

Drilling bid withdrawn.(Late news ...)
April 10, 2006... Drilling bid withdrawn: Yates Petroleum has withdrawn its bid to drill two new natural gas wells in an eastern New Mexico wildlife refuge after several groups raised environmental concerns. Yates has State Land Office leases for minerals under...

Maryland rejoins carbon reduction group.(Late news ...)
April 10, 2006... Maryland rejoins carbon reduction group: The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, now includes eight Northeastern states that have agreed to cap carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Maryland may now need to look at natural gas as an...

Projects renamed.(Late news ...)
April 10, 2006... Projects renamed: BPI Energy announced that its coalbed methane projects in the Illinois Basin have been renamed: The Montgomery Project, which consists in total of 239,487 acres in the north-central part of Illinois, is now known as the...

Backlog grows.(Late news ...)
April 10, 2006... Backlog grows: Omni Energy Services announced Friday that it has been awarded a $7 million contract to perform seismic drilling services on property located in East Texas. With the addition of this new project, Carencro, Louisiana-based Omni...

Southern Union NGLs stripping expanding at Trunkline terminal.
April 10, 2006... Southern Union's Trunkline LNG soon will be able to handle the "hottest" liquefied natural gas on the market through construction of a natural gas liquids (NGLs) extraction plant at its LNG import terminal at Lake Charles, Louisiana. In...

Changes considered in Mexico could open door for US companies.
April 10, 2006... Some rule changes being considered to the Mexican constitution may have a big impact on the energy service industry in the US. "Last year, some very important issues were raised that could see new controls for Pemex to hire services," said...

Intrastate weekly spot prices.
April 10, 2006... INTRASTATE WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 4/4-4/10 Avg. Avg. Apr. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg. High...

LNG plays even greater role in quenching Mexico's energy needs.
April 10, 2006... Mexico's thirst for natural gas is growing and LNG will play a key role in the country's plans to fuel a rebounding economy. In 2005, Mexico used about 6 Bcf/d and that need is expected to grow by about 5.8% through 2014, said Alejandro...

Prices and differentials for major hubs and selected city gates.
April 10, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] April 10, 2006 US$/MMBtu, Volume-Weighted SELECTED DAILY DIFFERENTIALS Differential 4/3 4/4 4/5 4/6 4/7 HH-NY +1.28 +1.56 +1.05 +0.76 +0.90 HH-Chicago -0.06 -0.22...

Manufacturers hope for rebound if LNG imports mean lower prices.
April 10, 2006... A new report by the Manufacturer's Alliance/MAPI proclaims the sector's ability to remain competitive in a global market has been hamstrung by high energy prices and it will continue to be hobbled unless policies change. As the price of...

North American weekly gas storage.
April 10, 2006... NORTH AMERICAN WEEKLY GAS STORAGE (Billion Cubic Feet) Mar. 31 Mar. 24 Weekly Year Yr. Ago 5-year 5-year Region Week Week Change Ago Change Average Change US East 846 861...

Gas, power giants Duke Energy, Cinergy merge in $9 billion deal.
April 10, 2006... Duke Energy has finally closed on its $9 billion merger with Cinergy, less than one year from the merger announcement, and it expects an increased percentage of earnings to come from the larger regulated asset base. "The deal was completed...

Nevada company taking aim at Barnett Shale with new drilling.
April 10, 2006... A year of adding engineers, land management specialists and geologists is paying off for Petrosearch as it reported a 239% increase in the value of its proved reserves at the end of 2005. "Our main focus in 2005 was to improve the quality...

Natural gas futures.
April 10, 2006... NATURAL GAS FUTURES Trading Dates: April 3 - April 7, 2006 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Last Volume Last Volume Last...

Northeast wants LNG, oil, pipes to hold down ISO NE power prices.
April 10, 2006... To help protect consumers from volatile fuel supplies, New England's regional power operator said last week it wants increased natural gas availability via construction of new LNG import terminals and natural gas pipeline capacity. "In...

Pipeline capacity utilization.
April 10, 2006... PIPELINE CAPACITY UTILIZATION Pipeline Point Name Capacity Mar-06 Feb-06 Colorado Interstate Cheyenne 590,000 80% 96% Gas Columbia Gas Leach 2,218,000 80%...

Advance positioning solar for generation inroads.(CURRENT)
April 10, 2006... Despite the seemingly infinite supply of energy radiating from the sun, about half a century of solar research and development has barely budged solar energy's market penetration, keeping it less than a threat in the fuel competition arena. ...

Nerc files enforcement application giving new standards some teeth.(CURRENT)
April 10, 2006... The North American Electric Reliability Council (Nerc) filed last week its Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. As a way to ensure the reliability standards possess enforcement...

Spot electricity trading.(CURRENT)
April 10, 2006... SPOT ELECTRICITY TRADING Trading Dates: April 3-April 7, 2006 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Avg. Price Avg. Price This Last Year Month POINT ...

Comparative fuel prices.(CURRENT)
April 10, 2006... COMPARATIVE FUEL PRICES (Cash Market) April 10, 2006 APPALACHIA Appalachian Pool Ohio/Big Sandy River Coal Dlvd (Util) $52.50/ton $7.46/MMBtu $2.19/MMBtu EAST COAST New...

MMS sets Gulf lease sale date despite Louisiana threat to block.(Regional Market Roundup)
April 10, 2006... The US Minerals Management Service has set Aug. 16 as the date for its next western Gulf of Mexico lease sale, despite a threat by Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco to block the auction because of a dispute between her state and the federal...

Baker Hughes rig count.(Regional Market Roundup)
April 10, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT Week Ended Apr. 7 Rotary Rigs Current Previous Year Week Week Ago Total US 1,579 1,576...

Gas price trends.(Regional Market Roundup)
April 10, 2006... GAS PRICE TRENDS ($/MMBtu) ROCKY NEW CALIFORNIA MTNS MEXICO South North Apr 10, 2006 Inter (well) - - 5.58 5.58 Intra...

British Columbia gas resource base expanding in nick of time.(Canadian Markets)
April 10, 2006... As the Alberta section of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin moves toward its apparently inevitable natural gas production decline later this decade, Canadian government and industry leaders are looking for previously unidentified or...

Qatar LNG projects break ground; Conoco, Shell eyeing US market.(World Roundup)
April 10, 2006... Two major LNG projects that will begin delivering much needed natural gas supplies to the US later in the decade broke ground in Qatar recently. ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell are each 30% partners with state Qatar Petroleum in...

Canadian price report.(World Roundup)
April 10, 2006... CANADIAN PRICE REPORT ($U.S. per MMBtu/$Can per Gigajoule) BRITISH COLUMBIA Huntingdon/ Kingsgate/ Total Sumas ...

Booming Southeastern US quickly becoming dominant natgas market.(World Roundup)
April 10, 2006... At last week's sixth annual LDC Forum Southeast in Atlanta one thing was made abundantly clear. The Southeast region is seeing tremendous growth in natural gas demand with few brakes in place. This forward momentum is primarily the result...

Natural gas weekly spot prices.
April 17, 2006... NATURAL GAS WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 4/11-4/17 Avg. Avg. Apr. Daily Daily Bid Price Point $/MMBtu Chg. High...

Ethanol competition for railroad capacity bullish for natgas, coal.
April 17, 2006... As the US moves toward an aggressive roll out of ethanol-based gasoline, the increased shipments of ethanol on the US railroad system could pinch coal deliveries, creating a bullish scenario for natural gas demand. "There is only so much...

Texas company testing innovative Drilling Technology at Utah well.
April 17, 2006... Particle Drilling Technologies is taking its idea of a new way of drilling through hard rock formations from the drawing board to its first field test this week at a Gasco Energy well in northeastern Utah. The new technology is known as...

Market bulls showing few signs of backing down as energy soars.
April 17, 2006... One word best sums up last week's energy market--bullish. Even as crude oil futures pressed up to near record highs at just under $70 a barrel, helping to underpin natural gas prices, it doesn't appear that bulls are quite done as yet. ...

Compromise on Virginia energy plan hailed as victory by all sides.
April 17, 2006... All eyes were on Virginia earlier this month as legislation passed the General Assembly calling for a state exemption from the federal offshore drilling ban that would open areas for leasing 30 miles off Virginia's coast to natural gas...

Bill sets buffers around tankers.(Late news ...)
April 17, 2006... Bill sets buffers around tankers: The Rhode Island House is expected to vote next month on a bill that would restrict LNG tankers as they move through Narragansett Bay. The bill received committee approval this week. Rep. Raymond Gallison...

Hearings begin.(Late news ...)
April 17, 2006... Hearings begin: The California Environmental Protection Agency has held the first of six meetings in the Golden State's Climate Action Summit series, to discuss recent recommendations for greenhouse gas reductions of 30% by 2020. If...

IT systems often overlooked in rush to prepare for '06 storms.
April 17, 2006... With memories of last year still fresh, energy companies along the Gulf Coast are rushing to prepare for the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season that many experts suspect will be extremely active. While energy companies race to secure physical...

Intrastate weekly spot prices.
April 17, 2006... INTRASTATE WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 4/11-4/17 Avg. Avg. Apr. Daily Daily Bid Price Point $/MMBtu Chg. High Low...

Petsec continues run of good luck with Gulf oil & gas finds.
April 17, 2006... The Gulf of Mexico continues to be a profitable venture for Petsec Energy as the Australian-based company reports four natural gas discoveries as well as an oil find. With its US headquarters in Lafayette, Louisiana, Petsec Energy reported...

Prices and differentials for major hubs and selected city gates.
April 17, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PRICES AND DIFFERENTIALS FOR MAJOR HUBS AND SELECTED CITY GATES April 17, 2006 US$/MMBtu, Volume-Weighted SELECTED DAILY DIFFERENTIALS Differential 4/9 4/10 4/11 4/12 4/13 HH-NY ...

With sound strategy, gas-fired assets are still hot commodity.
April 17, 2006... Stout natural gas prices, significantly above expectations when a flood of new gas-fired plants was constructed, continue to impact the dynamics of gas-fired generation ownership and new construction. Major gas-fired power producer Calpine...

North American weekly gas storage.
April 17, 2006... NORTH AMERICAN WEEKLY GAS STORAGE (Billion Cubic Feet) Region Apr. 7 Mar. 31 Weekly Year Yr. Ago 5-year 5-year Week Week Change Ago Change Average Change US East 855 846...

Study: as gas production falls, US coal ready to take up slack.
April 17, 2006... In what sounds like a pitch to give the coal industry longevity, the National Coal Council (NCC) has released a year-long study that said US coal reserves can be put to more use to reduce energy imports and prices. "By converting coal to...

Natural gas futures.
April 17, 2006... NATURAL GAS FUTURES Trading Dates: April 10 - April 13, 2006 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Last Volume Last Volume Last...

Fewer deepwater wells drilled in US Gulf, but success rate rises.
April 17, 2006... The number of exploration wells drilled in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico fell sharply last year, but companies got more bang for their buck in terms of drilling success, according to a review conducted by research and consulting firm Wood...

Global LNG spot trade easing; spring deliveries to US pick up.(Atlantic Basin LNG Update)
April 17, 2006... Global spot LNG trade, which reached a fever pitch earlier this winter, has eased somewhat, though it is expected to rise as summer heats up. "The whole market is turning more bearish," one trader said. It's expected the US will start...

Prices for major Atlantic basin LNG hubs.(Atlantic Basin LNG Update)
April 17, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PRICES FOR MAJOR ATLANTIC BASIN LNG HUBS ($US/MMBtu) * European gas prices are four-week spot averages from World Gas Intelligence. US gas prices are Natural Gas Week's volume-weighted composites from...

AEP granted IGCC plant cost recovery in Ohio.(CURRENT)
April 17, 2006... A Midwest state that first launched deregulation of its power markets around 2000 has seen an interesting twist. State regulators have agreed to let a utility recover costs for a new power plant via customer rate increases, a technique used in...

Nils Dias stepping down as NRC chairman when term ends in June.(CURRENT)
April 17, 2006... Nils J. Dias, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), has decided to step down when his term ends Jun. 30. The NRC is headed by five commissioners appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for five-year terms....

Spot electricity trading.(CURRENT)
April 17, 2006... SPOT ELECTRICITY TRADING Trading Dates: April 10-April 13, 2006 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) POINT Avg. Price Avg. Price Change Year Month This Week Last Week Ago ...