2007

A record number of residential gas customers, about 4.2 million, bought gas from retail marketers rather than their regulated utilities last December, according to an update to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) summary of natural gas residential choice programs nationwide. EIA said enrollment in customer choice programs rose 8% last year, with Ohio and New York showing the largest gains.

Finishing the week with a sub-$7 handle, April natural gas futures traded a slim 9.5-cent range Friday before finishing the week at $6.924, down 3.5 cents on the day and 15.9 cents lower than the previous Friday’s close.

A record number of residential gas customers, about 4.2 million, bought gas from retail marketers rather than their regulated utilities last December, according to an update to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) summary of natural gas residential choice programs nationwide. EIA said enrollment in customer choice programs rose 8% last year, with Ohio and New York showing the largest gains.

Traders on Thursday shrugged off the news that 115 Bcf was removed from underground storage last week as the number — while large for this time of year — was already factored into the market. As a result, April natural gas futures dropped below $7 once again to settle at $6.959, down 12.4 cents from Wednesday’s close.

IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) Thursday made a rival bid for Chicago Board of Trade parent CBOT Holdings Inc. in a $9.9 billion stock-for-stock transaction that would create “the world’s most comprehensive” derivatives exchange. The proposal is a direct challenge to a pending $8 billion bid for CBOT by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) (see Daily GPI, Oct. 18, 2006).

After breaking the April natural gas futures contract below support at $7.100 late last week, the bears cleared another hurdle on Monday in penetrating the $7 level and settling the contract at $6.912, down 17.1 cents on the day. Whether or not it retains a $6 handle depends on what kind of weather rolls in over the next week, which is still open to debate.

Opponents of the project told local news media Friday that the final environmental review of the BHP Billiton proposed offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving platform 14 miles off the Southern California coast should be rejected by federal and state authorities because of air quality, marine life and safety impacts. They use the 3,000-page final environmental impact statement and report (EIS/EIR) as the basis for rejection.

TXU Corp. and its private equity suitors said last Friday they have begun planning two integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) commercial demonstration generating plants in Texas. The move marks a change in thinking at TXU, which has said that IGCC technology was not mature enough to reliably burn the Powder River Basin (PRB) coals or lignite available to Texas generators.

Following the price strength seen over the first two trading days of the week, most cash market points on Wednesday declined despite the fact that the Northeast, Great Lakes Northern Plains and parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Midcontinent are still shivering under below-normal temperatures. After being one of the largest gainers to begin the week and recording twin $20 highs, Transco Zone 6 New York on Wednesday registered the largest drop, shedding nearly $6 to average just shy of $11.85/MMBtu.