Anticipated

Due to “significant decline in usage” at its facility on the Maryland shore as a resulting of expanding shale gas supplies, Dominion Cove Point LNG LP (DCP) Friday called on FERC to clarify that under its tariff it has the authority to require shippers to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) by tanker to its import terminal to keep the cryogenic portions of the terminal cooled or face penalties.

The anticipated surplus of domestic natural gas supplies won’t automatically translate to successful liquefied natural gas (LNG) export operations, according to Terry Engelder, the Penn State University geosciences professor who helped prove the value of the Marcellus Shale. The United States can expect to face a tough spot market overseas.

The anticipated surplus of domestic natural gas supplies won’t automatically translate to successful liquefied natural gas (LNG) export operations, according to Terry Engelder, the Pennsylvania State University geosciences professor who helped prove the value of the Marcellus Shale. The United States can expect to face a tough spot market overseas.

Senate debate and a possible vote on repealing oil and natural gas tax breaks, which was anticipated this week, is now expected to be pushed back for at least a week following the news that Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last Wednesday narrowly voted out a much-anticipated joint proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defining “swap dealers” and “major swap participants.”

With 85% now “welded up,” El Paso Corp. can see the finish line for its anticipated Ruby Pipeline, which will carry natural gas from the Rocky Mountains to West Coast markets, but winter weather, permit delays and sage grouse habitat concerns have forced the completion schedule to slip to July, the pipeline chief told investors on Thursday.

With 85% now “welded up,” El Paso Corp. can see the finish line for its anticipated Ruby Pipeline, which will carry natural gas from the Rocky Mountains to West Coast markets, but winter weather, permit delays and sage grouse habitat concerns have forced the completion schedule to slip to July, the company’s pipeline chief told investors on Thursday.

March natural gas futures rose in modest trading Tuesday as short-term traders anticipated some additional short-covering ahead of Thursday’s inventory report and longer-term analysts suggest that selling has run its course and recommend purchases of the April contact on dips. At the closing bell March natural gas was up 5.1 cents to $3.976 and April had gained 3.9 cents to $4.030. March crude oil fell 49 cents to $84.32/bbl.

A slowdown in natural gas production, anticipated flat gas consumption and and expected near-record high storage levels for most of the year are expected to exert a downward pressure on gas prices this year, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook for February.