Jeremiah Shelor

Start-up for the 2 Bcf/d Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP), the next major project backed by Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) aimed at uncorking associated natural gas flowing out of the Waha hub in West Texas, will slip to early 2021 from late 2020, management revealed late Wednesday.

A continuation of recent cold trends in forecasts for late October supported natural gas futures in early Wednesday trading. The November Nymex contract was trading 1.1 cents higher at $2.350/MMBtu at around 8:40 a.m. ET.

Forecasts Tuesday strengthened what was already shaping up to be a chilly late October pattern, lifting bulls’ spirits and propelling prompt-month natural gas futures to a second straight day of gains. The November Nymex contract climbed 5.9 cents to settle at $2.339/MMBtu; further along the strip, December added 3.4 cents to $2.532, while January settled at $2.647, up 2.5 cents.

Doubts over the durability of late October cold, combined with the prospect of another triple-digit weekly inventory build, saw natural gas futures fail to hang onto early gains Wednesday. After probing as high as $2.384/MMBtu early in the session, the November Nymex contract slid throughout the day to eventually settle at $2.303, off 3.6 cents; December dropped 3.7 cents to $2.495.

Natural gas futures were trading close to even early Tuesday as the latest forecasts continued to show colder temperatures spreading into the eastern United States during the last week of October. The November Nymex contract was trading 0.8 cents higher at $2.288/MMBtu shortly after 8:30 a.m. ET.

Forecasts Tuesday strengthened what was already shaping up to be a chilly late October pattern, lifting bulls’ spirits and propelling prompt-month natural gas futures to a second straight day of gains. The November Nymex contract climbed 5.9 cents to settle at $2.339/MMBtu; further along the strip, December added 3.4 cents to $2.532, while January settled at $2.647, up 2.5 cents.

A notably colder forecast for the last week of October in the latest guidance helped send natural gas futures prices sharply higher in early trading Monday. The November Nymex contract was trading 7.7 cents higher at $2.291/MMBtu at around 8:30 a.m. ET.

Friday’s natural gas futures trading suggested a market focused squarely on winter, with the front month easing lower despite healthy gains further along the strip. The November Nymex contract settled at $2.214/MMBtu, off 0.4 cents, while December and January each rallied 4.0 cents or more.

FERC has issued a certificate to Sendero Carlsbad Gateway LLC’s 400 MMcf/d natural gas pipeline to transport Permian Basin supply across the New Mexico/Texas border.