Biggest

Canadians are being assured by their two biggest natural gas transporters that they don’t have to take sides in the contest over the northern pipelines because they stand to gain no matter which project wins. After carrying an estimated C$40 billion worth (US$27 billion) of exports to the United States in the past 20 years, the “prebuild” of the Alaska pipeline, completed by Foothills Pipe Lines Ltd., predicts that far from losing, Canadians stand to gain if the country can build the missing northern link in the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System (ANGTS).

As expected after the big injection volume in AGA’s weekly storage report and the Nymex downturn in reaction, cash prices resumed softening Thursday at all points. But outside of California declines ranging from nearly a quarter (border-SoCalGas) to a little more than a dollar (Malin), other markets fell generally between a nickel and 15 cents with only a few scattered points exceeding 15 cents.

Few can deny that the two biggest factors influencing prices inthe volatile natural gas futures arena are storage and weather.Accordingly, a combination of record cold temperatures andlarger-than-expected storage withdrawals through November andDecember caused natural gas prices to more than double, leavingregulators stunned and sending buyer to the poor house. And whileit is doubtful that natural gas prices will return the ol’two-dollar days anytime soon, the futures market did take solid ahit yesterday and yes, storage and weather were to blame.

Undeterred by the fact that this week’s arctic cold front wascovering its largest area yet and showing little inclination forgoing away before the weekend, cash prices took a cue from thescreen and dropped by more than a dollar at almost all pointsTuesday. In a seeming pullback from the brink of market chaos,California and the Pacific Northwest registered plunges from about$11 to nearly $25.

Where once producers’ biggest worry was whether they would get adecent price for their gas, the concern now is whether they canproduce enough to meet market demands.

Where once producers’ biggest worry was whether they would get adecent price for their gas, the concern now is whether they canproduce enough to meet market demands.

In a deal that is being called the biggest in the Canadianenergy industry this year, two Calgary companies, Husky Oil Ltd.and Renaissance Energy Ltd., agreed last week to merge into HuskyEnergy, a move that will catapult the new company into the top tierof Canada’s publicly traded energy firms.

In a deal that is being called the biggest in the Canadianenergy industry this year, two Calgary companies, Husky Oil Ltd.and Renaissance Energy Ltd., agreed Monday to merge into HuskyEnergy, a move that will catapult the new company into the top tierof Canada’s publicly traded energy firms.

The cash market decided to calm down Friday following the heatwave and futures excitement from earlier in the week. Having littlein new guidance from weather or a static screen, prices ranged fromflat to down about a nickel in most cases, with larger declines oneither side of a dime occurring in the cooled-off Northeast.