Quotes moved higher at nearly all points Tuesday, but the increases were considerably smaller than those that began the trading week. The cash market got a boost from hot weather that has set up camp in the South recently and from a further advance by prompt-month futures the day before.
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Transportation Notes
Southern California Gas did not extend a new high-linepack OFO beyond Tuesday.
First LNG Vehicle Fueling Station Opens in Northeast
The first liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicle fueling station east of the Mississippi River began operation Thursday in Bridgeport, CT, setting several firsts for supplier Distrigas of Massachusetts LLC. Waste hauler Enviro Express Natural Gas LLC owns and operates the station, offering both LNG and compressed natural gas (CNG).
GasMart 2011: Shale Exports Could Face Cost Challenge
Companies that aim to export domestic shale gas can expect to face a tough spot market, according to Terry Engelder, the Penn State University geosciences professor who helped prove the value of the Marcellus Shale.
Industry Brief
Xcel Energy’s 550 MW Unit 1 at its Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant in Minnesota began a planned four- to six-week refueling outage late last Friday, meaning the multi-state utility holding company will be drawing on added supplies from its other generation sources or purchasing more power in the wholesale market. The refueling comes after more than 500 days of continuous operation of the unit, Xcel said. The unit is one of two at the 1,100 MW plant in Red Wing, MN. One of the reactors typically is refueled every 18 months.
Marubeni Gains Stake in Marathon’s DJ Basin Acreage
Houston-based Marathon, which is the fourth largest integrated producer in the United States, began leasing acreage in the DJ Basin in 2010. It currently is acquiring 2-D and 3-D seismic data and expects to participate in eight to 12 gross exploration wells by the end of the year.
BP’s McKay: Committed to Safety and GOM
BP America Inc. President Lamar McKay last week told an audience of financial analysts in New Orleans that his career began in the Crescent City. While he said it was a pleasure to be back for the Howard Weil Energy Conference, McKay emphasized that neither he nor BP had forgotten how Louisiana’s shores were fouled last summer by oil from the company’s blown-out Macondo well.
Losses Dominate Mixed, Mostly Near-Flat Prices
April began Friday with fairly heavy snowfalls in upper New England, the eastern Midwest and even parts of the Pacific Northwest, according to The Weather Channel (TWC). But with warming trends due over the weekend, the belief that wintry weather was on its last legs except for remaining subfreezing patches in Canada resulted in softness being slightly dominant in a mixed cash market that was mostly flat or close to it.
Transportation Notes
Pacific Gas and Electric extended the systemwide Stage 2 high-inventory OFO that began Friday through at least Saturday with no change in conditions.
North Slope Targeted for Shale Development
Ed Duncan is returning to Alaska’s North Slope where his career began about 30 years ago. This time around he has today’s unconventional drilling technologies to unlock what he expects will be a new beginning for himself and for the state.