Natural Gas Week articles from October 2005

Natural Gas Week archives from October 2005

Natural gas weekly spot prices.
October 3, 2005... NATURAL GAS WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 9/27-10/3 Avg. Avg. Oct. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg....

Industry struggling to get full picture of storm's devastation.
October 3, 2005... While Katrina will forever be etched in the minds of Americans as the hurricane that caused the most widespread suffering, Rita will no doubt be associated by the natural gas industry with widespread physical damage to offshore infrastructure,...

Dynegy: five processing plants down, but Venice hardest hit.
October 3, 2005... Two major hurricanes in less than a month left Dynegy with an array of damage and destruction to deal with as first Katrina took the Yscloskey and Venice plants southeast of New Orleans out of service, then Rita pummeled three plants in Cameron...

Gas, crude direction lead by tropics, return of Gulf output.
October 3, 2005... The direction that natural gas and crude oil futures prices will take this week will likely hinge on two factors, more tropical development and the return of Gulf of Mexico offshore production. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] "Too much emphasis...

Long-term damage from Katrina, Rita worse than first reported.
October 3, 2005... In terms of steel and flesh, the toll from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita along America's Energy Coast continued to pile up last week with each new report adding to an already gloomy tally. "There are several key issues facing the energy...

Forecast confirmed.(Late news ...)
October 3, 2005... Forecast confirmed: Houston-based Swift Energy, in its latest assessment after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, confirmed its revised third-quarter production estimate of 9 Bcfe, reduced from an original estimate of 11.75 Bcfe to 12.25 Bcfe. Total...

Drilling contract announced.(Late news ...)
October 3, 2005... Drilling contract announced: Houston-based Transocean Inc. said its deepwater drilling ship, the Deepwater Pathfinder, has been awarded an 800-day contract for work off the Nigerian coast starting in April 2006. A company spokesman said the...

Funding promised.(Late news ...)
October 3, 2005... Funding promised: Pennsylvania's governor will provide more than $500 million in funding and tax credits to jump-start the construction of a planned coal gasification plant that will produce clean transpiration fuels. Waste Management and...

Land acquired.(Late news ...)
October 3, 2005... Land acquired: Texhoma Energy has bought working interests in about 1,100 acres in two Louisiana parishes from private companies for about $4.75 million. A company official said the purchases include: a 7.243% working interest in 320 acres in...

Gulf LNG terminals, sites take hit from storm, damage light.
October 3, 2005... Although LNG terminals on the Louisiana Gulf Coast dodged the bullet when Katrina struck a month ago, they bore the brunt when it came to Rita, although reports indicate that damage was limited at Southern Union's Lake Charles terminal, the...

Intrastate weekly spot prices.
October 3, 2005... INTRASTATE WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 9/27-10/3 Avg. Avg. Oct. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg. High...

Price fix: consumer group calls for overhaul of natgas market.
October 3, 2005... As natural gas continues to press toward predicted highs of $15/MMBtu and beyond, energy consumer advocacy groups are becoming increasingly vocal, calling for stronger regulation, and in some cases, complete overhauls of US natural gas markets....

Prices and differentials for major hubs and selected city gates.
October 3, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] October 3, 2005 US$/MMBtu, Volume-Weighted SELECTED DAILY DIFFERENTIALS Differential 9/26 9/27 9/28 9/29 9/30 HH-NY N/A N/A N/A N/A +1.38 HH-Chicago N/A N/A...

Republicans make move to lift OCS E&P ban for willing states.
October 3, 2005... Efforts to lift the federal ban on offshore drilling took a major step when the House Resources Committee last week easily approved 27-16 a mini-energy bill that the Republican leadership is pushing as a remedy for energy problems unmasked by...

Composite spot wellhead price.
October 3, 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 7.50 8.99 11.24 2004 5.90 4.79 5.28 5.62...

Texas Gas distributors warn of soaring winter utility bills ahead.
October 3, 2005... Natural gas distributors across the country are beginning to prepare regulators, legislators and customers to expect significant boosts in home-heating bills this winter in the wake of two major hurricanes that threw an already tight market...

Washington Gas works to ease impact on winter heating bills.
October 3, 2005... Washington Gas is urging customers to brace for substantially higher heating bills this winter. The company is projecting an increase of 20% to 32% over last year and is encouraging customers to take precautions to conserve energy like sealing...

Natural gas futures.
October 3, 2005... NATURAL GAS FUTURES Trading Dates: Sep. 26 - Sep. 30, 2005 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Last Volume Last Volume Last ...

Energy industry rep tells Ohio lawmakers to open E&P access.
October 3, 2005... The crisis facing natural gas consumers is one that has been in the making long before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita dealt the Gulf Coast a one-two punch over the last month. That was the message given Thursday before a committee of the Ohio...

North American weekly gas storage.
October 3, 2005... NORTH AMERICAN WEEKLY GAS STORAGE (Billion Cubic Feet) Sep. 23 Sep. 16 Weekly Year Yr. Ago 5-year 5-year Region Week Week Change Ago Change Average Change US East 1698 ...

Natural gas bidweek prices.
October 3, 2005... NATURAL GAS BIDWEEK PRICES Flow Dates: 10/1-10/31 October Chg. Prev. Price Avg. from Bid- Point $/MMBtu Prev....

Texas center for $140 M in land deals; EnCana, Edge make moves.
October 3, 2005... Texas properties were as hot as the heat wave that baked the state for most of last week as two major deals worth about $142.8 million were announced. In the first, about 670,000 acres in Southwest Texas's Maverick Basin were put into play...

Oceaneering adds six ROVs to fleet in enriched capex plan.
October 3, 2005... For the second time in one month, Houston-based Oceaneering International has announced an increase to its 2005 capital spending plan. The company, which has a fleet of underwater robots to support the international exploration and...

NGW's monthly weighted averages.
October 3, 2005... NGW'S MONTHLY WEIGHTED AVERAGES $/MMBtu Price Point Sep.'05 Aug.'05 Jul.'05 Jun.'05 May'05 Apr.'05 Gulf Coast ANR SE 11.46 8.90 7.40 7.09 6.41 7.09 Col. Gulf - Erath ...

New England debates major change in market.(CURRENT)
October 3, 2005... Deregulated power markets continue to make changes to their structures to ensure fair competition and adequate supplies, which could pit old gas-fired generation against newer, more efficient generation. No two capacity markets are alike,...

Tropical tempests test Entergy finances.(CURRENT)
October 3, 2005... Just call Entergy's four-state service territory hurricane alley, as Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas took it on the chin from either or both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, leading at least one utility subsidiary to file for...

AEP contracts design plans for 1200-MW commercial IGCC plant.(CURRENT)
October 3, 2005... American Electric Power (AEP) announced last week that it had signed an agreement with GE Energy and Bechtel Corporation to begin the front-end engineering and design on a commercial-sized coal gasification plant. Amid high energy demand...

Spot electricity trading.(CURRENT)
October 3, 2005... SPOT ELECTRICITY TRADING Trading Dates: September 26-September 30, 2005 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Avg. Price Avg. Price This Last Year Month POINT...

Comparative fuel prices.(CURRENT)
October 3, 2005... COMPARATIVE FUEL PRICES (Cash Market) October 3, 2005 APPALACHIA Appalachian Pool Ohio/Big Sandy River Coal Dlvd (Util) $56.00/ton $14.49/MMBtu $2.33/MMBtu EAST COAST New...

Maverick acquiring leases in Arkansas' Fayetteville Shale.(Regional Market Roundup)
October 3, 2005... Maverick Oil and Gas, an independent producer based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said it has started acquiring leases in the Fayetteville Shale gas play in North Arkansas. The company plans to acquire at least 100,000 net acres in the play...

Baker Hughes rig count.(Regional Market Roundup)
October 3, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT Week Ended Sep. 30 Rotary Rigs Current Previous Year Week Week Ago Total US 1,483 1,451...

Gas price trends.(Regional Market Roundup)
October 3, 2005... GAS PRICE TRENDS ($/MMBtu) ROCKY NEW CALIFORNIA MTNS MEXICO South North Oct 3, 2005 Inter (well) - - 9.83 9.66 ...

Devon Canada sets plan to drill Beaufort Sea well this winter.(Canadian Markets)
October 3, 2005... Devon Canada has high hopes for its drilling program in Arctic waters this winter, when it will drill the first well in Canada's Beaufort Sea since 1989. Apart from finding natural gas in significant volumes, the other key issue is gaining fair...

Shell's Altamira LNG terminal to be supplied by new Nigerian train.(World Roundup)
October 3, 2005... Oil majors often shy away from matching up LNG import and export project start-up dates far in advance, in case one gets delayed or falls through. In Royal Dutch Shell's case, this has proved judicious, given the cancellation of its Venezuelan...

Canadian price report.(World Roundup)
October 3, 2005... CANADIAN PRICE REPORT ($U.S. per MMBtu/$Can per Gigajoule) BRITISH COLUMBIA Huntingdon/ Kingsgate/ Total Sumas ...

October settlement an economic catastrophe, impact far-reaching.(World Roundup)
October 3, 2005... It wouldn't be overstating the point to say that Wednesday's $13.90/MMBtu settlement by the Nymex October gas futures contract is almost as big a disaster as Hurricane Rita. In some ways it could be worse. Once we've spent tens of billions...

Natural gas weekly spot prices.
October 10, 2005... NATURAL GAS WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 10/4-10/10 Avg. Avg. Oct. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg....

Hurricane gas outages subsiding, but full recovery is long way off.
October 10, 2005... Natural gas production is being slowly restored in the Gulf of Mexico after what has been a disastrous hurricane season, but progress remains achingly slow. A substantial portion of the oil and gas production in the Gulf could take several...

Analysis: demand destruction to heavily offset supply shortages.
October 10, 2005... As the US moves toward winter, the natural gas industry has honed an increasingly frantic focus on potential supply shortfalls, sending gas prices soaring to record heights to the consternation of the ultimate commercial and residential buyers...

Traders eye weak gas market; expecting technical rebound.
October 10, 2005... Despite a steep move to the downside last week for the Nymex November gas futures contract, some gas traders anticipate further weakness before a rebound emerges. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] "Since there's no new tropical developments to be...

Shell becomes first major to enter red-hot Barnett Shale play.
October 10, 2005... Royal Dutch Shell has entered the Barnett Shale in north-central Texas, apparently becoming the first of the major integrated oil companies to grab a piece of this red-hot natural gas play. Shell told Natural Gas Week that it acquired...

Acquisition announced.(Late news ...)
October 10, 2005... Acquisition announced: The Unit Corp. announced that its subsidiary, Unit Petroleum Co., has signed a purchase and sale agreement to acquire oil and natural gas properties from a group of private entities for about $82.4 million in cash. The...

Construction to resume.(Late news ...)
October 10, 2005... Construction to resume: Houston-based Cheniere Energy Inc., which builds terminals for receiving LNG, said it plans to resume construction in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, this week after evacuating the area ahead of Hurricane Rita. Cheniere,...

Application filed.(Late news ...)
October 10, 2005... Application filed: Chevron announced it has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build the Casotte Landing LNG terminal in Jackson County, Mississippi. The company started the pre-filing process for the terminal...

Murkowski: Alaska and producers closer to deal on gas pipeline.
October 10, 2005... Alaska and oil giants Exxon Mobil, BP and ConocoPhillips could be inching closer to ratifying a contract that would underpin the construction of a $20 billion natural gas pipeline to supply the lower 48 states from Alaska's North Slope, which...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
October 10, 2005... A story that appeared in the Oct. 3 edition of Natural Gas Week incorrectly quoted John Barnett of Southern Union as saying that part of the reason why the Lake Charles LNG terminal seemed to have been largely undamaged by Hurricane Rita was...

El Paso unveils pipeline plan connecting Rockies to eastern US.
October 10, 2005... Saying the time is right, El Paso last week unveiled plans for a 1,000-mile pipeline to be named the Continental Connector that would connect supplies in the Rockies with markets in the East. El Paso President and Chief Executive Doug...

Intrastate weekly spot prices.
October 10, 2005... INTRASTATE WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 10/4-10/10 Avg. Avg. Oct. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg....

Prices and differentials for major hubs and selected city gates.
October 10, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] October 10, 2005 US$/MMBtu, Volume-Weighted SELECTED DAILY DIFFERENTIALS Differential 10/3 10/4 10/5 10/6 10/7 HH-NY N/A N/A N/A N/A +0.66 HH-Chicago N/A N/A...

Chesapeake muscles its way into Appalachia; buys Columbia assets.
October 10, 2005... Chesapeake Energy, already the 800-pound gas-production gorilla in the Midcontinent, has served notice that it also plans to play a dominant role in the Appalachian Basin. The Oklahoma City-based independent has agreed to pay $2.2 billion...

North American weekly gas storage.
October 10, 2005... NORTH AMERICAN WEEKLY GAS STORAGE (Billion Cubic Feet) Sep. 30 Sep. 23 Weekly Year Yr. Ago 5-year 5-year Region Week Week Change Ago Change Average Change US East 1733 ...

Forecast: '05 hurricane season far from over; more storms expected.
October 10, 2005... Forecasters gave the US energy industry some news that it didn't want to hear--the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season is far from over and another major storm could be in the cards. Dr. William Gray and a team of researchers at Colorado State...

Work under way at Canaport LNG site in New Brunswick, Canada.
October 10, 2005... Just outside Saint John, New Brunswick, adjacent to Irving Oil's crude oil import terminal, crews are working apace to complete in advance of the approaching winter site preparation for what they hope will be Canada's first LNG receiving...

Natural gas futures.
October 10, 2005... NATURAL GAS FUTURES Trading Dates: October 3 - October 7, 2005 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Last Volume Last Volume Last...

BLM rolls out cost-recovery regs; impact felt best in West.
October 10, 2005... In response to recommendations by the Interior Department's Office of the General Inspector, the Bureau of Land Management released finalized rules on Friday designed to assist in recovering costs of the agency's document processing. Increased...

Pipeline capacity utilization.
October 10, 2005... PIPELINE CAPACITY UTILIZATION Pipeline Point Name Capacity Sep-05 Aug-05 Jul-05 Colorado Interstate Cheyenne 590,000 94% 97% 96% Gas Columbia Gas Leach 2,218,000...

Calpine comes out of closet with IGCC plans.(CURRENT)
October 10, 2005... Calpine, the nation's largest independent gas-fired power producer, played a huge role in colonizing power markets with natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) generation, may soon play a role in advancing cutting edge clean-coal technology in a move...

AEP to install first battery storage.(CURRENT)
October 10, 2005... American Electric Power (AEP) is preparing to install the first commercial-scale energy storage technology by a US distribution system. Storage technology assists with grid congestion and reliability, and some technologies store cheap power...

Investors turn gas prices into gold, Texas Genco latest deal.(CURRENT)
October 10, 2005... Investors continue to turn profits by selling coal and nuclear power plants and buying valuable gas-fired power plants as well, with plays spanning North America and Europe. Investors Blackstone Group, Hellman & Friedman LLC, Kohlberg...

Spot electricity trading.(CURRENT)
October 10, 2005... SPOT ELECTRICITY TRADING Trading Dates: October 3-October 7, 2005 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Avg. Price Avg. Price This Last Year Month POINT ...

Comparative fuel prices.(CURRENT)
October 10, 2005... COMPARATIVE FUEL PRICES (Cash Market) October 10, 2005 APPALACHIA Appalachian Pool Ohio/Big Sandy River Coal Dlvd (Util) $57.25/ton $14.88/MMBtu $2.39/MMBtu EAST COAST New...

Chevron suspends work on Gulf offshore Port Pelican terminal.(Regional Market Roundup)
October 10, 2005... Chevron has indefinitely suspended construction work associated with a controversial offshore terminal in Louisiana to import LNG to the US, the Coast Guard said early last week. Specifically, Chevron is no longer pursuing approval to build a...

Baker Hughes rig count.
October 10, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT Week Ended Oct. 7 Rotary Rigs Current Previous Year Week Week Ago Total US 1,481 1,483...

Gas price trends.(Regional Market Roundup)
October 10, 2005... GAS PRICE TRENDS ($/MMBtu) ROCKY NEW CALIFORNIA MTNS MEXICO South North Oct 10, 2005 Inter (well) - - 10.66 10.51 ...

Junior E&P firms strike hot new natgas play in northeastern BC.(Canadian Markets)
October 10, 2005... One of the hottest Canadian gas plays at the moment appears to be northeastern British Columbia, where news leaked last week that two junior exploration companies, Innova Exploration and Kereco Energy, may have struck it rich at Blair Creek,...

Long-term Asian LNG contracts confront Henry Hub, price caps.(World Roundup)
October 10, 2005... Currently at historic highs, the Henry Hub US gas price benchmark already effectively dominates spot trade in LNG around the world. "Everybody is short, and everybody is paying Henry Hub," is how one LNG trader described the current short-term...

Canadian price report.(World Roundup)
October 10, 2005... CANADIAN PRICE REPORT ($U.S. per MMBtu/$Can per Gigajoule) BRITISH COLUMBIA Huntingdon/ Kingsgate/ Total Sumas Eastport...

First winter gas bills will shock; utilities now bracing for fallout.(World Roundup)
October 10, 2005... You could almost hear a collective sigh of relief Thursday when the Energy Information Administration released its underground natural gas storage report estimating a 44 Bcf build for the week ended Sep. 30. An overheated cash market...

Natural gas weekly spot prices.
October 17, 2005... NATURAL GAS WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 10/11 - 10/17 Avg. Avg. Oct. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu...

EIA sees difficult winter ahead under the weight of high prices.
October 17, 2005... Releasing its Winter Fuels Outlook last week, the Energy Information Administration did not back down on its previous warnings that home heating costs are expected to soar this year, the result of a tight supply-demand balance thrown off-kilter...

Traders eyeing bearish impact on energy by a bird flu pandemic.
October 17, 2005... As the US, the World Health Organization and countries around the globe begin to sound an alarm that the economic impact from the avian influenza bird-flu pandemic could be enormous, some of that focus is falling on what impact a sweeping...

Mild weather, improving outages promise more market downside.
October 17, 2005... The combination of bearish fundamental and technical indicators, which kept natural gas prices grinding lower last week, are likely to continue pressuring prices lower this week as well. Typically slack shoulder-season demand has helped to...

Storms providing lessons in construction and economics.
October 17, 2005... The lessons from Hurricane Katrina and Rita are coming in fast and furious, from the obvious that older rigs and platforms didn't fare well to the less obvious overall economic impact that is only beginning to be felt across the nation. ...

Takeover offer made.(Late news ...)
October 17, 2005... Takeover offer made: Vintage Petroleum has accepted a $3.5 billion cash and stock takeover offer from Occidental Petroleum, the largest oil producer in Texas and the leading natural gas producer in California. Under the terms of the agreement,...

Rule change proposed.(Late news ...)
October 17, 2005... Rule change proposed: The federal Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a draft rule to ensure the New Source Review (NSR) program is more compatible with current air pollution control programs that protect public health and the...

E&C industry facing personnel shortages, rising demand, costs.
October 17, 2005... The E&C, or engineering and construction, arm of the energy industry is about to enter a time of great promise and at the same time--great challenges. "The E&C demand is now exceeding the industry's capacity," said William N. Dudley,...

Intrastate weekly spot prices.
October 17, 2005... INTRASTATE WEEKLY SPOT PRICES Flow Dates: 10/11 - 10/17 Avg. Avg. Oct. Price Daily Daily Bid Point $/MMBtu Chg....

Survey: human factor adversely affecting global LNG growth.
October 17, 2005... One of the main factors that will slow the development of the LNG industry in the US isn't a lack of steel or the NIMBY impulse or even politics--it's the human resources needed to operate such plants. "One of the key constraints will be...

Prices and differentials for major hubs and selected city gates.
October 17, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] October 17, 2005 US$/MMBtu, Volume-Weighted SELECTED DAILY DIFFERENTIALS Differential 10/10 10/11 10/12 10/13 10/14 HH-NY +0.90 +0.84 +0.93 +0.63 +0.68 HH-Chicago -1.08 -1.32...

Storms show problems in supply chain; LNG said to gain market.
October 17, 2005... Hurricanes Katrina and Rita may have taught the US some very cruel lessons about its energy infrastructure. "The storms showed some of the chinks that are out there in the natural gas supply chain," said Jim Naphas with Infocast at their...

North American weekly gas storage.
October 17, 2005... NORTH AMERICAN WEEKLY GAS STORAGE (Billion Cubic Feet) Oct. 7 Sep. 30 Weekly Year Yr. Ago 5-year 5-year Region Week Week Change Ago Change Average Change US East 1774 1733...

Speaker: geology taking second seat to politics in exploration.
October 17, 2005... "Geopolitics, not geology, is driving the energy future." That was the message given last week by Amy Myers Jaffe at the 8th Annual Rice Engineering & Construction Forum held at Rice University in Houston. Jaffe is the Wallace S. Wilson...

Natural gas futures.
October 17, 2005... NATURAL GAS FUTURES Trading Dates: October 10 - October 14, 2005 NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (NYMEX) (HENRY HUB) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Last Volume Last Volume...

Storms, outages, global demand send US Q3 LNG imports reeling.(Atlantic Basin LNG Update)
October 17, 2005... US imports of LNG dropped sharply in the third quarter, even as Henry Hub prices were soaring from around $7.25/MMBtu in early July to more than $12/MMBtu in September. A combination of strong European demand in July, outages at liquefaction...