Natural Gas Week articles from July 2005

Natural Gas Week archives from July 2005

Natural gas weekly spot prices.
July 4, 2005... NATURAL GAS WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 6/28-7/4 Avg. Avg. Jul. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg....

FERC rejects Rhode Island LNG plant, approves Fall River site.
July 4, 2005... The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week rejected a proposal for an LNG terminal in Providence, Rhode Island, unanimously voting against KeySpan's plan to convert an existing LNG facility into one that can handle marine deliveries...

Quiet fight brewing over other Alaskan refuge--Yukon Flats.
July 4, 2005... In October of 2004, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) agreed in principle to a land swap that has triggered intense public outcry and would change the borders of one of the country's largest wildlife refuges--a 9 million acre area in the...

Hurricane jitters send bulls on run as tropics begin stirring.
July 4, 2005... Going into the long holiday weekend, the crude oil and natural gas futures markets received an unexpected jolt of bullishness as concerns over an emerging tropical system near Jamaica caused a heavy dose of short covering. If a hurricane comes...

White House taps Joseph Kelliher as FERC chairman to replace Wood.
July 4, 2005... As had been widely anticipated, President George W. Bush designated Joseph Kelliher to be the new chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, replacing Pat Wood III, who ended his term on Thursday. An energy lawyer, Kelliher has...

CNOOC buyout.(Late news ...)
July 4, 2005... CNOOC buyout: The US House of Representatives voted to block the Bush administration from approving the buyout of Unocal by the Chinese energy firm CNOOC. The measure passed by a vote of 333-92 and was attached to a spending bill for the...

Pipeline project.(Late news ...)
July 4, 2005... Pipeline project: Enbridge Offshore Pipelines will spend $100 million to extend its Gulf of Mexico pipeline infrastructure by constructing both a natural gas lateral and a crude oil pipeline lateral to connect the deepwater Neptune oil and gas...

NGL business bought.(Late news ...)
July 4, 2005... NGL business bought: Tulsa, Oklahoma-based ONEOK, Inc. has completed the purchase of the natural gas liquids businesses owned by several Koch companies for about $1.35 billion.

Coal limitations spell stronger natural gas prices in US, Canada.
July 4, 2005... North American natural gas suppliers and consumers have something of a yin-and-yang relationship, or maybe the difference is a matter of perspective. However they are paired, consumers generally want warm winters and cool summers to keep energy...

Importance of Louisiana's ports growing, even as problems mount.
July 4, 2005... Twice over the past several weeks, key Louisiana ports serving the offshore oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico were closed to marine traffic. In early June, the Port of Iberia was shut down after a 52-year-old tugboat sank in the...

Intrastate weekly spot prices.
July 4, 2005... INTRASTATE WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 6/28-7/4 Avg. Avg. Jul. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg. High...

Prices and differentials for major hubs and selected city gates.
July 4, 2005... July 4, 2005 US$/MMBtu, Volume-Weighted [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SELECTED DAILY DIFFERENTIALS Differential 6/27 6/28 6/29 6/30 7/1 HH-NY +0.61 +0.61 +0.77 +0.63 +0.40 HH-Chicago +0.01 +0.03...

Senate strongly endorses energy bill, now comes House conference.
July 4, 2005... The Senate last week paved the way for final negotiations with the House of Representatives after a ringing 85-12 endorsement of a comprehensive energy bill that sets new policies and provides $14 billion in incentives to help meet US energy...

Composite spot wellhead price.
July 4, 2005... COMPOSITE SPOT WELLHEAD PRICE January 2001 to Present ($/MMBtu) Year Jan. Feb. March April May June July August Sept. Oct. 2005 6.05 5.99 6.77 6.99 6.26 6.91 2004 5.90 4.79 5.28 5.62 6.17 6.11 5.82...

MMS to release six studies on lessons from Hurricane Ivan.
July 4, 2005... Determined to learn new lessons from the aftermath of last year's Hurricane Ivan, the federal Minerals Management Service will be releasing six studies over the next 14 months on how to make offshore oil and gas platforms and pipelines more...

FieldPoint eyes rich Palo Duro Basin, planning multi-well test.
July 4, 2005... Austin-based independent FieldPoint Petroleum has unveiled plans for the exploration of the Palo Duro Basin and its shale gas play. The company is currently evaluating its options, including rig availability, for a multi-well drilling...

Natural gas futures.
July 4, 2005... NATURAL GAS FUTURES Trading Dates: June 27 - July 1, 2005 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Last Volume Last Volume Last Volume...

Exxon farms out Piceance Basin assets to independent XTO Energy.
July 4, 2005... A farm-in agreement announced late last week between XTO Energy and Exxon Mobil will help speed up the development of more than 69,000 acres in the Piceance Basin in northwest Colorado. XTO Energy President Keith A. Hutton said that under...

North American weekly gas storage (billion cubic feet).
July 4, 2005... NORTH AMERICAN WEEKLY GAS STORAGE (Billion Cubic Feet) Jun. 24 Jun. 17 Weekly Year Yr. Ago 5-year 5-year Region Week Week Change Ago Change Average Change US East 1091 ...

Natural gas bidweek prices.
July 4, 2005... NATURAL GAS BIDWEEK PRICES Flow Dates: 7/1-7/31 July Chg. Prev. Price Avg. from Bid- Point $/MMBtu Prev....

Texas independent sees major expansion in $56 million deal.
July 4, 2005... Houston-based Whittier Energy took a giant leap forward recently with the $56 million acquisition of Rimco Production, a privately-held Delaware company that now gives the Texas company interests in properties across the Gulf Coast from Texas...

Woodside changes LNG plans in US, loses aluminum contract.
July 4, 2005... Woodside Petroleum has issued some shaky news regarding its plans to export LNG to the US and said that it canceled a natural gas supply contract after the customer backed out. In an announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange, Woodside...

Halliburton division unveils new 3-D seismic visualization system.
July 4, 2005... The energy industry got a push into the future recently with the unveiling of a computer system that allows users to get real-time 3-D seismic data and then interact with that information. Landmark, a member of Halliburton's Digital and...

NGW's monthly weighted averages.
July 4, 2005... NGW'S MONTHLY WEIGHTED AVERAGES $/MMBtu Price Point Jun.'05 May.'05 Apr.'05 Mar.'05 Feb.'05 Gulf Coast ANR SE 7.09 6.41 7.09 6.82 5.99 Col. Gulf - Erath 7.15 6.47...

Senate bill would bolster alternatives to gas.(CURRENT)
July 4, 2005... With natural gas selling at $7/MMBtu and oil recently hitting $60 per barrel, policy makers in Washington, D.C., are finally getting serious about passing meaningful energy legislation. Although the electricity sector has limped along from...

US study notes vast CHP DG potential.(CURRENT)
July 4, 2005... The US has about 65 million potential buyers of micro combined heat and power (CHP) systems according to a recently released report by Jackson Associates, a North Carolina-based energy analysis firm. CHP is a form of distributed generation...

Calpine sells California, Gulf assets; bankruptcy less likely.(CURRENT)
July 4, 2005... Calpine last week agreed to sell all its domestic oil and gas assets to Rosetta Resources for $1.05 billion, which is about one-third of Calpine's goal to reduce more than $3 billion in debt by year-end. Calpine has proved oil and gas...

FP&L switches on major gas-fired plants.(CURRENT)
July 4, 2005... Florida Power & Light (FP&L) turned the ignition on last week for 1,900 MW of baseload, combined cycle gas-fired generation in the Sunshine State. The $600 million Manatee Unit 3, southeast of St. Petersburg, Florida, will add 1,100 MW....

Spot electricity trading.(CURRENT)
July 4, 2005... SPOT ELECTRICITY TRADING Trading Dates: June 27-July 1, 2005 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Avg. Price Avg. Price This Last Year Month POINT ...

FERC OK's Exelon, Garden State merger.(CURRENT)
July 4, 2005... The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the merger of Chicago-based Exelon and the Garden State's Public Service Enterprise Group, saying the merger satisfied the public interest standard of the Federal Power Act. The firms...

Comparative fuel prices.(CURRENT)
July 4, 2005... COMPARATIVE FUEL PRICES (Cash Market) July 4, 2005 APPALACHIA Appalachian Pool Ohio/Big Sandy River Coal Dlvd (Util) $52.00/ton $7.46/MMBtu $2.17/MMBtu EAST COAST New York...

Latest MMS Central Gulf lease sale nets $342 M for 403 tracts.(Regional Market Roundup)
July 4, 2005... The Minerals Management Service has accepted high bids valued at more than $342 million for 403 tracts in the latest oil and natural gas lease sale in the Central Gulf of Mexico held Mar. 16. The MMS said Lease Sale 194 attracted 80...

Baker Hughes rig count.(Regional Market Roundup)
July 4, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT Week Ended Jul. 1 Rotary Rigs Current Previous Year Week Week Ago Total US 1,370 1,370...

Gas price trends.
July 4, 2005... GAS PRICE TRENDS ($/MMBtu) ROCKY NEW CALIFORNIA MTNS MEXICO South North Jul 4, 2005 Inter (well) - - 5.79 5.66 ...

Gas liquids, drilling hit hard by Western Canadian weather woes.(Canadian Markets)
July 4, 2005... Recent natural calamities, including floods, tornados and lightening storms in southern and central Alberta, have played havoc with the province's massive natural gas infrastructure, particularly in the town of Empress, home to a number of...

Venezuela poised to export via Trinidad, as terminal being built.(World Roundup)
July 4, 2005... While Venezuela has been taking its time in developing the 38 Tcf of offshore gas reserves in the acreage it dubbed Deltana Platform, some timid moves have been reported toward potential exports of at least small amounts of its gas through...

Four deepwater rigs headed for Brazil.(World Roundup)
July 4, 2005... Houston-based Pride International has landed multi-year contracts worth about $823 million for four of its Amethyst-class deepwater semisubmersible drilling rigs in Brazil. Pride International Vice President of Marketing Kevin C. Robert...

Canadian price report.(World Roundup)
July 4, 2005... CANADIAN PRICE REPORT ($U.S. per MMBtu/$Can per Gigajoule) BRITISH COLUMBIA Huntingdon/ Kingsgate/ Total Sumas ...

Canadian firm perfecting art of lightening up heavy crude oil.(World Roundup)
July 4, 2005... Using technology it developed, a Calgary-based company is helping to build a full-sized plant that will turn heavy oil into more marketable light oil that is being eagerly sought by refiners from around the world. "The key to the oil...

Natural gas weekly spot prices.
July 11, 2005... NATURAL GAS WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 7/5-7/11 Avg. Avg. Jul. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg....

CCRO's Energy Data Hub could be newest wrinkle in index pricing.
July 11, 2005... An initiative being developed by the Committee of Chief Risk Officers could soon add a new dimension to how daily and monthly trading data is distributed to the energy industry. And though it may be too early to say what the impact of the...

Cove Point LNG blamed for leaks near D.C., Dominion says no way.
July 11, 2005... Washington Gas and Light said Thursday that switching from domestic gas to imported LNG was the "key contributing factor" in a series of leaks in underground mains and service lines in Prince George's County, Maryland, during the past two...

Hurricane or not, market bulls likely to regain lead this week.
July 11, 2005... Conflicting storm paths between private weather forecasters and the National Hurricane and Weather Centers on the direction Hurricane Dennis would take had crude oil and natural gas prices swinging wildly all last week. By Friday, the bears had...

Barnett Shale play, East Texas to get 1.6 Bcf/d added capacity.
July 11, 2005... Producers facing pipeline-capacity constraints out of the North Texas Barnett Shale and several East Texas gas plays will be getting some relief over the next year or so as Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) prepares to expand its...

Production stopped.(Late news)
July 11, 2005... Production stopped: The federal Minerals Management Service in New Orleans on Friday reported that Hurricane Dennis has caused the evacuation of 116 rigs and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. A breakdown of that figure...

Rigs damaged.(Late news)
July 11, 2005... Rigs damaged: Officials with GlobalSantaFe said Friday they have delayed the startup of two new semi-submersible drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico after inspections found damage to the rigs' thruster nozzles. GlobalSantaFe Chief Operating...

Hurricane season brings new challenge to aviation companies.
July 11, 2005... Any doubts that the 2005 hurricane season was going to be an unusual one has been washed away with the unprecedented appearance of four storms since the season started Jun. 1. One of the effects of Tropical Storm Cindy and Hurricane Dennis...

Intrastate weekly spot prices.
July 11, 2005... INTRASTATE WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 7/5-7/11 Avg. Avg. Jul. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg. High Low...

Cimarex says plenty of money to be made by "old-school" drilling.
July 11, 2005... Denver-based Cimarex, which doubled its size with the recent acquisition of Magnum Hunter, readily admits to being a little old-fashioned in its approach to oil and gas exploration. "Our business is exploration and production in...

Prices and differentials for major hubs and selected city gates.
July 11, 2005... PRICES AND DIFFERENTIALS FOR MAJOR HUBS AND SELECTED CITY GATES July 11, 2005 US$/MMBtu, Volume-Weighted [GRAPHIC OMITTED] SELECTED DAILY DIFFERENTIALS Differential 7/4 7/5 7/6 7/7 7/8 HH-NY ...

Enterprise to add 75,000 bbls/d NGL fractionator at Hobbs, N.M.
July 11, 2005... Growing supplies of liquids-rich natural gas out of the US Rocky Mountain region and increasing demand for natural gas liquids (NGLs) in the US Southwest and northern Mexico has created an opportunity for Houston-based Enterprise Products...

North American weekly gas storage.
July 11, 2005... NORTH AMERICAN WEEKLY GAS STORAGE (Billion Cubic Feet) Jul. 1 Jun. 24 Weekly Year Yr. Ago 5-year 5-year Region Week Week Change Ago Change Average Change US East 1136 ...

Excelerate orders fourth tanker; Quoddy bay project scaled back.
July 11, 2005... Belgian ship owner Exmar has completed a long-term charter agreement with Houston-based Excelerate Energy for a fourth LNG regasification vessel. To be named Explorer, the vessel will be built by Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine...

Consortium wants rules changed to allow plastic gas pipelines.
July 11, 2005... A consortium of private industry and research organizations is trying to change federal rules that prohibit plastic from being used for natural gas pipelines. To do this, Arkema Inc., the Gas Technology Institute and Public Service of New...

Natural gas futures.
July 11, 2005... NATURAL GAS FUTURES Trading Dates: July 5-July 8, 2005 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Last Volume Last Volume Last Volume ...

Iran election turning state LNG unfriendly?(Perspective)
July 11, 2005... The surprise election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president of Iran could spell major changes for Iran's gas policy, likely including further delays in or even an end to LNG export efforts. Iranian petroleum industry officials expect Oil...

Pipeline capacity utilization.(Perspective)
July 11, 2005... PIPELINE CAPACITY UTILIZATION Pipeline Point Name Capacity Jun-05 May-05 Colorado Cheyenne 590,000 90% 85% Interstate Gas Columbia Gas Leach 2,218,000 57% ...

Congress mulls mandatory renewable standards.(CURRENT)
July 11, 2005... Ramifications from state renewable portfolio standards (RPS) continue to reverberate globally, and especially in the US with the possibility of a federal RPS that mandates 10% of electricity comes from renewables by 2020. Regardless of...

Senate bill supportive of transmission.(CURRENT)
July 11, 2005... The Senate version of the energy bill addresses tough transmission issues that if not resolved could seriously impact the nation and its economic viability, bill supporters say. It's hard to prove or manage fair access to transmission so...

Florida utility reports record summer use set twice last week.(CURRENT)
July 11, 2005... Progress Energy Florida said its 1.5 million customers set a record for summer power use when a total of 8,992 MWh was used on Wednesday. That edged out the previous record, which was set the day before when demand hit 8,991 MWh. The...

Calgary utility plans 80-MW wind farm.(CURRENT)
July 11, 2005... Officials with Enmax Corp., the city of Calgary's electric utility, last week announced plans to build a $113 million wind farm in southern Alberta. This will make the second project of this kind for Enmax. The development will be located...

Solar, shade offer innovative approach.(CURRENT)
July 11, 2005... Demand for solar energy has helped the sector increase its global production capacity and become innovative, as seen in a project by Kyocera, a leading solar technology provider. Kyocera recently unveiled a demonstration project in a...

Spot electricity trading.(CURRENT)
July 11, 2005... SPOT ELECTRICITY TRADING Trading Dates: July 5-July 8, 2005 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Avg. Price Avg. Price This Last Year Month POINT ...

Comparative fuel prices.(CURRENT)
July 11, 2005... COMPARATIVE FUEL PRICES (Cash Market) July 11, 2005 APPALACHIA Appalochian Pool Ohio/Big Sandy River Coal Dlvd (Until) $53.00/ton $7.99/MMBtu $2.21/MMBtu EAST COAST...

XTO buys Permian Basin property in two deals valued at $270 M.(Regional Market Roundup)
July 11, 2005... XTO Energy struck two separate deals last week with a combined value of some $270 million to buy oil and gas properties from Exxon Mobil and Mission Resources in the Permian Basin of West Texas and Southeast New Mexico. The deals will augment...

Baker hughes rig count.(Regional Market Roundup)
July 11, 2005... BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT Week Ended Jul. 8 Rotary Rigs Current Previous Year Week Week Ago Total US 1,394 1,370 1,207 Land ...

Gas price trends.(Regional Market Roundup)
July 11, 2005... GAS PRICE TRENDS ($/MMBtu) ROCKY NEW CALIFORNIA MTNS MEXICO TEXAS Gulf Coast Gulf Coast South...

Canadian gas, oil assets change hands; two deals worth C$1.18 B.(Canadian Markets)
July 11, 2005... The "Sold" sign went out this week over a lot of land in Canada as both Nexen Energy and Exxon Mobil both announced major sales. Canadian independent Nexen Energy said it is close to finalizing deals to sell conventional oil and gas...

Beijing to set Guangdong gas send-out price at new terminal.(World Roundup)
July 11, 2005... China's first LNG terminal project, in Guangdong province, is on track to import initial LNG from Australia's North West Shelf project in mid-2006, but the 3.7 million ton per year facility has yet to firm up prices for gas with end-users,...

Peru could anchor regional gas ring.(World Roundup)
July 11, 2005... The buzz in Latin America these days is that Peru could replace Bolivia as the future hub of a long dreamed of regional gas ring. The truth is Peru would need to do a lot of homework to make this dream come true--and if massive additional...

Canadian price report.(World Roundup)
July 11, 2005... CANADIAN PRICE REPORT ($U.S. per MMBtu/$Can per Gigajoule) BRITISH COLUMBIA Huntingdon/ Kingsgate/ Total Sumas Eastport ...

Analysts: last week's price run tame, hyper-bull market looms.
July 11, 2005... Even as natural gas and oil prices hit new heights, two reports were released last week that must have chilled the souls of end users hoping to catch a break. The bottom line: There will be no relief--not now, certainly not this summer and...

Gas price report.
July 11, 2005... GAS PRICE REPORT ($/MMBtu--Spot) July 11, 2005 Interstate Intrastate Delivered Delivered Wellhead Wellhead To Pipeline To Utility Bid ...

Natural gas weekly spot prices.
July 18, 2005... NATURAL GAS WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 7/12-7/18 Avg. Avg. Jul. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu...

Experts eye second wave of gas demand destruction on horizon.
July 18, 2005... Even as oil and natural gas stockpiles continue building at a record pace, US industry is bracing for a second wave of demand destruction that's certain to continue the cycle of downsizing, mergers and plant closures seen since the first wave...

New Jersey, Delaware threaten 'war' over LNG terminal siting.
July 18, 2005... After simmering quietly for a few months, the war of words between New Jersey and Delaware has intensified over the latter's proposal to build a 1,900-foot pier on the Delaware River to accommodate LNG tankers at BP's proposed $500 million...

Expanding heat wave, hurricane to keep natural gas prices aloft.
July 18, 2005... This week's natural gas market direction should hinge on two factors: Hurricane Emily's ultimate landfall and the emergence of extremely hot summer temperatures across much of the US. If coming out of the weekend it's clear that Emily is headed...

US LNG imports stagnate this spring as supply problems grow.
July 18, 2005... Despite an increase in US LNG receiving capacity and record high gas prices, US imports of LNG were flat in the second quarter with year-ago levels, after registering steady increases for two years running, including a near 30% jump in 2004....

Board ends meeting.(Late news ...)
July 18, 2005... Board ends meeting: The 10-member board of directors for Unocal has met and ended their meeting with no news on whether the company will accept a $18.5 billion bid from CNOOC, the Chinese energy giant. CNOOC's offer is about $67 a share while...

Gas use to increase.(Late news ...)
July 18, 2005... Gas use to increase: Two utility units of Xcel Energy said Friday they were short of coal at their electric generating stations and would have increased their use of natural gas to fire electric plants and buying power from third parties. The...

Settlement.(Late news ...)
July 18, 2005... Settlement: While not admitting wrongdoing, Enron has reportedly agreed to pay $875 million to utilities in the western US to settle charges it manipulated the market to raise energy prices in the region between 1997 and 2003. It also would pay...

Past Gulf storms hold clues to preparing for hurricane season.
July 18, 2005... With Hurricane Emily knocking on the door of the western Gulf of Mexico, industry and government officials agree--the forecast for the 2005 storm season is living up to its hype. And a lot of what is being done today is because of Hurricane...

Intrastate weekly spot prices.
July 18, 2005... INTRASTATE WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 7/12-7/18 Avg. Avg. Jul. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg. High Low...

GE group buys into second gas pipeline, AIG's Southern Star.
July 18, 2005... Financial institutions' interest in US interstate pipeline infrastructure shows no signs of abating. Funds, investment banks, and conglomerate holding companies began buying into the sector following Enron's 2001 collapse, which put the whole...