Balance

The election may have left the balance of power in Washington basically unchanged, but the lame duck Congress, which convened this week, may turn out to be not so lame, and the outlook for natural gas interests on Capitol Hill is good, according to Regina Hopper, CEO of America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA).

The election may have left the balance of power in Washington basically unchanged, but the lame duck Congress, which convened this week, may turn out to be not so lame, and the outlook for natural gas interests on Capitol Hill is good, according to Regina Hopper, CEO of America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA).

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has completed sales of its Permian Basin properties, which allows it to reduce the outstanding balance on existing term loans to $1.2 billion from $4 billion by the end of this month. The company said it plans to fully repay the term loans by the end of the year. The assets sold produced close to 21,000 b/d of liquids and 90 MMcf/d of natural gas in 2Q2012, or about 5.7% of Chesapeake’s production during the period. The multi-sales package was announced in September (see Shale Daily, Sept. 13). SWEPI LP, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, bought the southern Delaware Basin assets, while the northern Delaware Basin portion was sold to Chevron U.S.A. Inc., a subsidiary of Chevron Corp. The producing assets in the Midland Basin were sold to affiliates of Houston-based EnerVest Ltd.

Spain’s Repsol could opt to sell its 75% stake in the Canaport LNG terminal in Saint John, NB, as part of a plan to refocus operations and streamline its balance sheet, the company confirmed.

Houston-based Crimson Exploration Inc. said its Woodbine and Eagle Ford shale programs continue to enjoy success, contribution to second quarter production that was in the upper range of the company’s guidance.

On balance cash markets were unchanged Wednesday in spite of a fire and explosion on a pipeline in Gray County, TX. Weather conditions for the most part were mild limiting both electrical generation requirements as well as heating load. Northeast, Gulf, and California points moved little beyond a penny either side of unchanged. At the close of futures trading July had eased 2.5 cents to $2.421 and August weakened 2.2 cents to $2.474. July crude oil gained 73 cents to $85.02/bbl.

A new investor presentation posted early Tuesday by Chesapeake Energy Corp. included a full-page statement by the company with the headline, “It’s been a tough five weeks, but better days ahead.” By Tuesday afternoon, the statement, originally the second page of the 32-page presentation, had been deleted with no explanation by the company.

While it is currently straining its balance sheet to accelerate infrastructure buildout, Clean Energy Fuels Corp. likes its strategic positioning to take advantage of what it considers now widespread acceptance of natural gas as the alternative fuel of choice for large trucks and a new national network of fueling stations it expects to be in place by next year, CEO Andrew Littlefair told financial analysts on an earnings call reporting more red ink for the Seal Beach, CA-based firm.

On balance the cash market averaged out to the loss side of the trading ledger Monday, but double-digit strength was noted at northeastern points, and deliveries into southern California points also registered gains. Futures markets headed south as revised weather forecasts called for an extended period of warmth throughout the eastern two-thirds of the country. At the end of futures trading April had fallen 12.9 cents to $2.355 and May had slid 12.8 cents to $2.472. April crude oil added two cents to $106.72/bbl.