California

Mild winter temperatures across much of the central and eastern United States reduced heating demand and dropped domestic natural gas consumption to the lowest levels in years.  Following a cold start to winter last December, benign weather prevailed over the first two months of this year. As a result, in January, U.S. natural gas consumption…

Kinder Morgan Inc.’s (KMI) renewable diesel (RD) hub projects in California are in full commercial operation, which may be the first to transport the alternative fuel by pipeline to inland destinations. “We are confident that the best way to serve markets during this energy evolution is through an all-of-the-above energy mix,” said KMI’s Dax Sanders,…

‘Tis the season for pipeline maintenance, with a host of planned events fueling gains for some natural gas markets, according to NGI’s Forward Look. May forward prices averaged 5.0 cents higher from March 30-April 5, while the balance of summer (May-October) went unchanged from the prior period. The winter strip (November-March) also barely moved at…

The selloff continued for the majority of U.S. natural gas forward markets in the final week of March as production proved too lofty amid declining weather-driven demand and healthy inventory levels.  The April contract rolled off the board between 10 and 20 cents lower, while the May contract – which took over the prompt-month position…

Against a consistent backdrop of lackluster natural gas demand, robust production, lagging exports and unseasonably high storage inventories, forward prices continued to crumble during the March 16-22 period, according to NGI’s Forward Look. Natural gas fixed prices declined more than 30.0 cents on average for April, with several U.S. locations recording even steeper decreases for…

Natural gas futures flipped positive early Thursday after a government inventory report proved bullish relative to recent years. However, it ultimately was not enough to ease festering supply/demand imbalance concerns. At A Glance: EIA prints 72 Bcf withdrawal Spring weather blossoming Production holds steady, stout The April Nymex gas futures contract lost 1.7 cents day/day…

Nearly 3,000 permits were issued in February to explore for U.S. oil and gas, a slight increase from January but down nearly 9% from a year ago, according to state and federal data. Evercore ISI, which tracks oil and gas permitting data, said 2,929 permits gained approval in February, up by 211 or 8% from…

As dust settles on the nationwide natural gas-versus-electric stove story, regulators for California’s San Francisco Bay Area have determined that natural gas stoves are safe for now, but gas furnaces and water heaters must be phased out in four years.  In a near-unanimous vote, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) on Wednesday amended…

Natural gas forward prices escalated across the Lower 48 throughout the Feb. 23-March 1 period, with a continuation of winter storms fueling sharp premiums on the West Coast, according to NGI’s Forward Look. April forward prices remained low overall as benchmark Henry Hub stood Wednesday at $2.819/MMBtu. That has prompted some power generators to make…