Ceiling

Citing unseasonably warm weather and reduced natural gas demand, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its Short-Term Energy Outlook for January lowered the ceiling for spot gas prices this winter to less than $7/Mcf. The agency last month predicted that winter spot prices would stay below the $9/Mcf mark (see NGI, Dec. 18, 2006).

Citing unseasonably warm weather and reduced natural gas demand, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its Short-Term Energy Outlook for January lowered the ceiling for spot prices this winter to less than $7/Mcf. The agency last month predicted that winter spot prices would stay below the $9/Mcf mark (see Daily GPI, Dec. 13, 2006).

After hitting its head on a $7.85 ceiling Monday, May natural gas futures used the afternoon to probe for support. The prompt month ended the day down 15.5 cents at $7.594, just a few cents shy of Monday’s $7.56 low.

North American natural gas drilling is up 30% from the beginning of the year and is on course to reach its 2001 peak by the fourth quarter, Merrill Lynch said in a new report on the oilfield service sector. Canadian drilling activity, which often is a good indicator of upstream spending going forward, is heading for a near record level this year.

North American natural gas drilling is up 30% from the beginning of the year and is on course to reach its 2001 peak by the fourth quarter, Merrill Lynch said in a new report on the oilfield service sector. Canadian drilling activity, which often is a good indicator of upstream spending going forward, is heading for a near record level this year.