Natural Gas Week articles from May 2006

Natural Gas Week archives from May 2006

Natural gas weekly spot prices.
May 1, 2006... NATURAL GAS WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 4/25-5/1 Avg. Avg. May Daily Daily Bid Price Point $/MMBtu Chg. High...

Profits, grandstanding again take capitol hill's center stage.
May 1, 2006... Soaring energy prices and another round of huge quarterly earnings took center stage in Washington last week. In an episode, much like a rerun from last season, oil and natural gas majors were attacked as frustrations mount over high gasoline...

Fear: cause for real concern or just good excuse to book profits.
May 1, 2006... Sometimes it's maddening to read how the latest "fears of future supply problems" seem to flip on and off like a problematic light switch in the daily energy market. Even odder is how supply fears often peak and fade multiple times per day on...

Summer fundamentals, storage plays likely to lift June gas price.
May 1, 2006... Thanks to a sharp technical reversal of overheated crude oil futures, the Nymex June gas futures contract reversed engines as well, falling well below $7 psychological support last week. The sell-off in June gas futures was also led by cooler...

Louisiana reps join support of bill opening coasts to drilling.
May 1, 2006... Three members of the Louisiana congressional delegation have announced their support of a bill that would open up the East and West coasts of the US to natural gas exploration and production. In doing so, the representatives said they were also...

Virginia ban.(Late news ...)
May 1, 2006... Virginia ban: The Department of Defense said it will oppose opening up waters off the coast of Virginia to oil and natural gas drilling and production. In a letter to the Minerals Management Service, the Pentagon said it uses the waters for...

Open season.(Late news ...)
May 1, 2006... Open season: Duke Energy Gas Transmission's Market Hub Partners (MHP) unit will conduct an open season for customers seeking the flexibility and reliability of salt cavern storage services in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The non-binding...

EnCana weighs Piceance farm-out deals to accelerate gas production.
May 1, 2006... EnCana is weighing the possibility of farm-out deals as a way of accelerating the development of the more than 900,000 net acres of leases it holds in western Colorado's Piceance Basin. Speaking during a conference call on the Canadian...

Intrastate weekly spot prices.
May 1, 2006... INTRASTATE WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 4/25-5/1 Avg. Avg. May Daily Daily Bid Price Point $/MMBtu Chg. High Low...

Northern exposure: Arctic being primed for E&P by global warming.
May 1, 2006... Environmentalists and scientists are becoming more concerned that global climatic changes could open areas once protected by being harsh and hard-to-reach locales to oil and gas development. Though not unfounded, especially with the campaigns...

Prices and differentials for major hubs and selected city gates.
May 1, 2006... May 1, 2006 US$/MMBtu, Volume-Weighted [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SELECTED DAILY DIFFERENTIALS Differential 4/24 4/25 4/26 4/27 4/28 HH-NY +0.55 +0.64 +0.52 +0.50 +0.50 HH-Chicago -0.53 -0.49...

Analysts: netbacks, markets make Alaskan gas pipeline best choice.
May 1, 2006... How best to move Alaska's vast natural gas resources from the North Slope to US markets has long been debated by majors, stakeholders and legislators. At issue: Whether to build liquefaction facilities and transport the gas as LNG via tanker to...

Composite spot wellhead price.
May 1, 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 6.61 2005 6.05 5.99 6.77 6.99 6.26 6.91 7.50 8.99 11.24...

Disaster response hot topic as business leaders compare notes.
May 1, 2006... Tropical Storm Allison is being called the wake up call that energy companies got when it came to securing their information technology or IT sections. The roll-call of disasters after that--Sep. 11, 2001, Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and then...

Natural gas futures.
May 1, 2006... NATURAL GAS FUTURES Trading Dates: April 24 - April 28, 2006 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Last Volume Last Volume ...

Innovative solutions needed to relieve Alberta labor shortage.
May 1, 2006... With a provincial unemployment rate of only 3% and job growth rising at a record pace, both the energy industry and the Alberta government must take aggressive measures to ensure that the right number of workers with the appropriate skills are...

North American weekly gas storage.
May 1, 2006... NORTH AMERICAN WEEKLY GAS STORAGE (Billion Cubic Feet) Apr. 21 Apr. 14 Weekly Year Yr. Ago 5-year 5-year Region Week Week Change Ago Change Average Change US East 930 881R...

Natural gas bidweek prices.
May 1, 2006... NATURAL GAS BIDWEEK PRICES Flow Dates: 5/1-5/31 May Chg. Prev. Avg. from Bid- Price Point $/MMBtu Prev. High Low...

BP sets sights on major wind project to power US production.
May 1, 2006... BP expects to join Shell and Exxon Mobil in the trend of oil majors moving to not only to advance renewable energy, but also to integrate some type of renewable energy with exploration and production operations. At the American Wind Energy...

NGW's monthly weighted averages.
May 1, 2006... NGW'S MONTHLY WEIGHTED AVERAGES $/MMBtu Price Point Apr.'06 Mar.'06 Feb.'06 Jan.'06 Dec.'05 Gulf Coast ANR SE 6.94 6.66 7.35 8.40 12.72 Col. Gulf - Erath 7.05 6.83 ...

TXU picks cheap coal over pricey natural gas.(CURRENT)
May 1, 2006... They say everything is big in Texas. And, by any measure, what the state's largest power generator plans to do is as big as the Lone Star State itself. TXU plans to spend $10 billion to more than double its current 5.8 GW of coal...

AES expands wind energy assets with California wind farms buy.(CURRENT)
May 1, 2006... AES said last week it would purchase 54 MW of wind generation assets from Enron Wind Systems in Tehachapi, California, bringing the total wind capacity AES operates to 654 MW. The assets include two wind farm projects encompassing 667...

Spot electricity trading.(CURRENT)
May 1, 2006... SPOT ELECTRICITY TRADING Trading Dates: April 24-April 28, 2006 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Avg. Price Avg. Price Year Month POINT This Week Last Week Change Ago...

Comparative fuel prices.(CURRENT)
May 1, 2006... COMPARATIVE FUEL PRICES (Cash Market) May 1, 2006 APPALACHIA Appalachian Pool Ohio/Big Sandy River Coal Dlvd (Util) $52.50/ton $7.59/MMBtu $2.19/MMBtu EAST COAST ...

CFTC, Nymex repeat contention markets being not manipulated.(Regional Market Roundup)
May 1, 2006... The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) said last week that high crude oil and gasoline prices are reflecting underlying fundamentals, not speculation or market manipulation as suggested...

Baker Hughes rig count.(Regional Market Roundup)
May 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT Week Ended Apr. 28 Rotary Rigs Current Previous Year Week Week Ago Total US 1,608 1,591...

Gas price trends.(Regional Market Roundup)
May 1, 2006... GAS PRICE TRENDS ($/MMBtu) CALIFORNIA ROCKY NEW MTNS MEXICO South North May 1, 2006 Inter (well) - - 5.48 5.41 Intra...

Mackenzie project faces hurdles in personnel, politics, price hikes.(Canadian Markets)
May 1, 2006... The Mackenzie Gas Project is being called a major lifeline for an energy-starved North America. But before the first shovel of dirt has been turned, the planned 760-mile natural gas pipeline continues to face major hurdles. The challenges:...

World LNG trade shifting focus back to US, good netbacks cited.(World Roundup)
May 1, 2006... Global spot LNG flows have undergone a shift typical of spring. But this season's movement is unusually pronounced, with European and Asian LNG imports sagging as US intake perks up. Although weak European demand over the spring partly...

Canadian price report.(World Roundup)
May 1, 2006... CANADIAN PRICE REPORT ($U.S. per MMBtu/$Can per Gigajoule) BRITISH COLUMBIA Huntingdon/ Kingsgate/ Total Sumas ...

Let the witch hunts begin: big oil helpless against ignorance.(World Roundup)
May 1, 2006... From the looks of things, the energy sector is about to be led to the guillotine in front of a howling mob, and you can't say it's unexpected (NGW Nov.14,p16). To tell the truth, extremely high heating bills being delivered in the wake of...

Natural gas weekly spot prices.
May 8, 2006... NATURAL GAS WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 5/2-5/8 Avg. Avg. May Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg....

Derailed: coal-fired generation giving way to gas as woes mount.
May 8, 2006... Natural gas may see a boost in demand this summer as large coal consumers say they're not getting enough coal to maintain generation, properly manage costs or adequately maintain inventories. "Utilities may never have to curtail generation...

Warming Arctic, Atlantic weather present challenges for industry.
May 8, 2006... Changing weather patterns in the Arctic and the Atlantic Basin were on the "must see" list by many at the 2006 Offshore Technology Conference held in Houston last week. The changes, the speakers agreed, present a great many new challenges for...

Natgas market gains strength on bullish signals, summer demand.
May 8, 2006... Even in the face of a massive sell off in crude oil last week, Nymex June gas futures made a respectable run toward higher ground, suggesting that market bulls are preparing for an assault on even higher targets. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] "It...

EOG Resources probes half dozen "clones" of Texas' Barnett Shale.
May 8, 2006... EOG Resources--already one of the leading producers in the North Texas Barnett Shale--is probing the potential of six more shale plays in the US. Chief Executive Mark Papa said on Friday that the company plans to drill at least one well on each...

No decision on LNG terminal.(Late news ...)
May 8, 2006... No decision on LNG terminal: As of press time Friday, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco had still not announced her decision regarding a proposed LNG receiving terminal planned in the Gulf of Mexico about 37 miles to the east of Venice, Louisiana....

Shift from gas signaled.(Late news ...)
May 8, 2006... Shift from gas signaled: Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. has announced plans to drill 150 fewer natural gas wells in 2006 as part of a temporary shift by the Calgary-based company to oil in a bid to capitalize on soaring crude prices. "It's...

Newer rigs survived hurricanes, but infrastructure needs work.
May 8, 2006... A deeper understanding of just what hurricanes Katrina and Rita did to the offshore energy industry is still being developed. One thing that has become apparent is that out of the 4,000 rigs and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, the ones...

Shell shares lessons learned from hurricane damage to Mars.
May 8, 2006... Royal Dutch Shell's Greg Guidry is feeling a lot better following the recent announcement that the mighty Mars field will return to production later this month. Guidry is responsible for Shell's assets in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and...

Intrastate weekly spot prices.
May 8, 2006... INTRASTATE WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 5/2-5/8 Avg. Avg. May Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg. High Low...

Prices and differentials for major hubs and selected city gates.
May 8, 2006... May 8, 2006 US$/MMBtu, Volume-Weighted [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SELECTED DAILY DIFFERENTIALS Differential 5/1 5/2 5/3 5/4 5/5 HH-NY +0.49 +0.50 +0.52 +0.51 +0.47 HH-Chicago -0.53 -0.53...

Forecast: energy industry could spend $247 B offshore by 2010.(Industry overview)
May 8, 2006... Short of a worldwide economic meltdown or a solution to the political crisis in the Middle East, high oil and gas prices are here to stay. That was the conclusion of a study of oil and natural gas prices now given last week in Houston at...

North American weekly gas storage.
May 8, 2006... NORTH AMERICAN WEEKLY GAS STORAGE (Billion Cubic Feet) Apr. 28 Apr. 21 Weekly Year Yr. Ago 5-year 5-year Region Week Week Change Ago Change Average Change US East 959...

Speaker calls for US to open up East, West coasts to exploration.
May 8, 2006... With the Offshore Technology Conference as a background, a Virginia state senator last week said his state and the US must open up currently restricted waters on the East and West coasts to protect American industries and jobs. Appearing...

Natural gas futures.
May 8, 2006... NATURAL GAS FUTURES Trading Dates: May 1 - May 5, 2006 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Last Volume Last Volume Last...

Tight natgas market puts US on concerted search for new supply.
May 8, 2006... The slow return to normal in the Gulf of Mexico continues to place a strain on domestic energy markets. With more than 1.2 billion cubic feet a day of Gulf output still shut in almost 9 months after the first of two major storms devastated...

Pipeline capacity utilization.
May 8, 2006... PIPELINE CAPACITY UTILIZATION Location FlowDate Flow May (2006) Month-to-Date Transco Zone 6 NY 5/5/2006 1,514,001 1,503,079 Niagara 5/5/2006 947,081 942,549 FGT Mkt Area Del....

Unmanned aircraft among tech advances showcased at 2006 OTC.
May 8, 2006... Evergreen Helicopters has taken aerial support of the energy industry into a new era with the announcement that they will begin deploying unmanned aerial vehicles--UAVs for short--to support the industry in remote areas around the world. ...

New coal projects on track despite rail jams.(CURRENT)
May 8, 2006... The first round of new clean-coal power in the US, expected online around 2010, will move ahead at full steam despite current coal transportation challenges--thanks to pollution-control technology and retirements, sources say. A major...

On heels of financial report, TXU to invest in clean coal operations.(CURRENT)
May 8, 2006... In addition to building more clean-coal in Texas, TXU may expand its business outside of the Lone Star State, after reporting strong 2006 first-quarter earnings. TXU plans to invest $10 billion to add 8,600 MW of new clean-coal generation...

Spot electricity trading.(CURRENT)
May 8, 2006... SPOT ELECTRICITY TRADING Trading Dates: May 1-May 5, 2006 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Avg. Price Avg. Price This Last Year Month POINT ...

Comparative fuel prices.(CURRENT)
May 8, 2006... COMPARATIVE FUEL PRICES (Cash Market) May 8, 2006 APPALACHIA Appalachian Pool Ohio/Big Sandy River Coal Dlvd (Util) $51.75/ton $7.08/MMBtu $2.16/MMBtu EAST COAST New...

Devon Energy extends dominance over Barnett Shale with acquisition.(Regional Market Roundup)
May 8, 2006... Already by far the biggest producer in Texas' largest natural gas field, last week Devon Energy became a Barnett Shale powerhouse on Tuesday by snapping up privately owned Chief Holdings for $2.2 billion in cash. Oklahoma City-based Devon...

Baker Hughes rig count.(Regional Market Roundup)
May 8, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT Week Ended May. 5 Rotary Rigs Current Previous Year Week Week Ago Total US 1,625 1,608...

Gas price trends.(Regional Market Roundup)
May 8, 2006... GAS PRICE TRENDS ($/MMBtu) ROCKY NEW CALIFORNIA MTNS MEXICO South North May 8, 2006 Inter (well) - - 5.12 5.08 Intra...

Gasification key to raising oil sands efficiency, profitability.(Canadian Markets)
May 8, 2006... Oil sands producers now consume about 1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to generate 1 million barrels per day of bitumen and synthetic oil, or a ratio of a thousand cubic feet per barrel of output. But with Western Canadian gas prices...

Bolivia's Morales makes good threat to nationalize industry.(World Roundup)
May 8, 2006... Bolivian President Evo Morales sent troops out to occupy the nation's gas fields early last week after signing a decree that placed the country's hydrocarbons industry under government control. Foreign oil and gas companies operating in...

Canadian price report.(World Roundup)
May 8, 2006... CANADIAN PRICE REPORT ($U.S. per MMBtu/$Can per Gigajoule) BRITISH COLUMBIA Huntingdon/ Kingsgate/ Total Sumas Eastport...

EIA: as Gulf recovers, onshore production still carrying load.(World Roundup)
May 8, 2006... Judging by the Energy Information Administration's monthly gas production data for February, onshore production is still shouldering the load when it comes to keeping US production afloat with production still not back to "normal" in the Gulf...

Natural gas weekly spot prices.
May 15, 2006... NATURAL GAS WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 5/9-5/15 Avg. Avg. May Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg....

LNG projects facing governors' protests over open-loop systems.
May 15, 2006... Long known as the energy friendly state, Louisiana drew a line in the Gulf of Mexico early this month when its governor vetoed a proposed $1 billion LNG terminal because of Freeport McMoRan's plan to use open-rack vaporizers. It is a fight...

House committee OKs amendment opening OCS to natural gas E&P.
May 15, 2006... In what some might hail as a sign that congressional leaders are coming to understand the growing disparity between US supply and demand, the House Appropriations Committee approved a proposal last Wednesday that would omit natural gas...

Weak fundamentals, technicals spell further downside for gas.
May 15, 2006... Fundamentals finally caught up with June gas futures Friday, and this week could bring more of the same as attention is increasingly focused on the key drivers of weather and storage and their alarming potential to undermine current price...

Murkowski, producers disclose terms for proposed pipeline.
May 15, 2006... Under orders from a state court, Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski released the terms of a proposed fiscal and operating agreement between the state of Alaska and the three major North Slope producers last week for the proposed natural gas pipeline...

Duke unveils strategy.(Late news ...)
May 15, 2006... Duke unveils strategy: Duke Energy on Friday said its board has approved a plan to exit its commercial marketing and trading business under a broader strategy to shift out of trade in North American wholesale power markets. The announcement...

Bid made.(Late news ...)
May 15, 2006... Bid made: Petro-Canada has announced it will make a cash offer for all outstanding shares of Canada Southern Petroleum. The offer is for a cash price of US$7.50/share, or about US$113 million. Canada Southern Petroleum is a Calgary-based oil...

Pioneer increasingly optimistic about South Texas Edwards Trend.
May 15, 2006... Recent exploration success has added to Pioneer Natural Resources' enthusiasm for the Edwards ReefTrend, a narrow band of limestone that stretches across 250 miles of South Texas. Pioneer has already enjoyed success in developing the Pawnee...

Calhoun LNG project scrambling for supplier, schedule slipping.
May 15, 2006... Gulf Coast LNG Partners, developer of the Calhoun LNG terminal on the central Texas Gulf Coast, has plenty of potential customers on the demand side, the company said last week. Unfortunately, neither the company nor any of its future users has...

Intrastate weekly spot prices.
May 15, 2006... INTRASTATE WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 5/9-5/15 Avg. Avg. May Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg. High Low...

Gas storage, green power enhance oil recovery at Falcon project.
May 15, 2006... The gas storage business can be very good these days. For example, the price spread between current and February delivery is well over $4 per thousand cubic feet, which would be better than good under ordinary circumstance. For...

Prices and differentials for major hubs and selected city gates.
May 15, 2006... May 15, 2006 US$/MMBtu, Volume-Weighted [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SELECTED DAILY DIFFERENTIALS Differential 5/8 5/9 5/10 5/11 5/12 HH-NY +0.56 +0.49 +0.42 +0.44 +0.39 HH-Chicago -0.57 -0.47...

North American weekly gas storage.
May 15, 2006... NORTH AMERICAN WEEKLY GAS STORAGE (Billion Cubic Feet) May 5 Apr. 28 Weekly Year Yr. Ago 5-year 5-year Region Week Week Change Ago Change Average Change US East 1008 ...

Kerr-McGee hikes capex budget for onshore, offshore production.
May 15, 2006... With an eye toward its strategic goals, Kerr-McGee boosted its $1.6 billion capital spending plan for 2006 by $250 million--$170 million for onshore projects and $80 million for offshore plans. "The additional capital supports our strategic...

Natural gas futures.
May 15, 2006... NATURAL GAS FUTURES Trading Dates: May 8 - May 12, 2006 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Last Volume Last Volume Last...

EIA: lower gas prices could be short-lived as supplies tighten.
May 15, 2006... By September of this year, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) sees fuel prices will have declined steadily as production from the Gulf of Mexico returns to normal. But unfortunately, the respite is expected to be short lived. The...

US LNG import activity picks up with softening of global market.(Atlantic Basin LNG Update)
May 15, 2006... The global LNG spot market has softened considerably since this winter, and the dynamics have shifted with the US pulling in a substantially larger amount of supply at the expense of Europe and Asia. Although there has been talk recently about...

Prices for major Atlantic basin LNG hubs.(Atlantic Basin LNG Update)
May 15, 2006... May 2006 ($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 delivery first day of month through most current delivery date....

Coal gasification advance requires guarantees.(CURRENT)
May 15, 2006... For several years now, natural gas and oil have been trading north of the price demarcation where alternative technologies become economically viable compared to traditional oil, natural gas or power production. But one question was on the...

FutureGen Alliance focuses site search for zero-emissions plant.(CURRENT)
May 15, 2006... The FutureGen Industrial Alliance announced last week the long-awaited list of states that will be allowed to compete for the US Department of Energy's $1 billion, zero-emissions power plant. Seven states are in the running to host the...

Spot electricity trading.(CURRENT)
May 15, 2006... SPOT ELECTRICITY TRADING Trading Dates: May 8-May 12, 2006 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Avg. Price Avg. Price This Last Year Month POINT ...

Comparative fuel prices.(CURRENT)
May 15, 2006... COMPARATIVE FUEL PRICES (Cash Market) May 15, 2006 APPALACHIA Appalachian Pool Ohio/Big Sandy River Coal Dlvd (Util) $50.75/ton $6.84/MMBtu $2.11/MMBtu EAST COAST New...

Kerr-McGee reports Gulf gas find; Typhoon to sleep with the fishes.(Regional Market Roundup)
May 15, 2006... Kerr-McGee has made a gas discovery on its Claymore prospect, the first of half a dozen high-impact subsalt exploration wells it plans to drill in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico this year. The Claymore discovery well was drilled to a total...

Baker Hughes rig count.(Regional Market Roundup)
May 15, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT Week Ended May. 12 Rotary Rigs Current Previous Year Week Week Ago Total US 1,627 1,625...