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Market Ends Week Quietly with Little Change
Pricing was “pretty much the same as it was yesterday,” said aSouth Texas producer Friday reporting flat numbers in the low$2.10s. Most points traded flat to 2-3 cents up or down, with a tadmore downside than upside. Several sources agreed it was a quietand essentially featureless market. A big aggregator called it”mostly a dead day; there seemed to be a lot of people out of theoffice.”
Louisiana pipes tended to start a penny or two above Thursdaylevels but price support was breaking down later, a producer said.But a Midcontinent marketer said supplies appeared to be gettingtight on ONG and ANR Southwest in the late going. An early deal onANR at $2.08 was followed by a late one at $2.12, and the marketerwas hearing ONG quotes also rose to $2.12.
Intra-Alberta numbers took the day’s biggest hit in highlyvolatile trading. One source reported prices falling from the lowC$1.70s all the way to the mid C$1.50s. There are continuingrestrictions on Aeco C storage injections, a marketer said, andbecause NOVA is cutting IT at Empress it looks as if exports therewill remain restricted for a while longer after all. Another sourcesaid maintenance this week at the Turner Valley Compressor Stationwill reduce ABC (Alberta/British Columbia border) flows.
It was a different price story in the neighboring province ofBritish Columbia, where annual turnaround was to start Sunday atthe big McMahon processing plant. McMahon capacity normally is550-600 MMcf/d, said a Westcoast spokesman. That will drop to 250MMcf/d today and Tuesday, then come back up to 460 MMcf/d throughearly June, when there will be another reduction before the plantresumes full operation June 5.
Buyers preparing for the McMahon constraints pushed exports intoNorthwest at Sumas up 3-4 cents into the US$1.42-45 range, aCalgary trader said. Westcoast Station 2 usually is priced slightlylower than intra-Alberta, she said, but was about a dime higher inthe C$1.70s Friday due to the McMahon work. A Houston-basedmarketer said gas sellers at Sumas tried to hype Monday-Tuesdaypricing up into the US$1.60s, but since buyers didn’t seem to bevery concerned he could not confirm that deals got done that high.
Rockies prices were a bit softer in the $1.80s as high linepackon a couple of pipes enabled shippers with imbalances to draft thepipes, a trader told Daily GPI. That effectively added excesssupply in the region, helping to depress prices, he added.
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