Chicago

Thursday deliveries of physical natural gas overall fell another 8 cents on average Wednesday as soft power prices and a lack of not only supportive weather, but also a non-existent Atlantic tropical environment, continued to pressure the market. October natural gas options expired Wednesday and at the close of futures trading October had risen 0.1 cent to $3.493 and November had eased 1.3 cents to $3.546. November crude oil slid 47 cents to $102.66/bbl.

In a broader global energy picture that is a “smorgasbord of fragmented pieces,” the United States is headed for a return to gas-on-gas competition among shale-dominated natural gas basins, according to Jim Duncan, ConocoPhillips chief analyst and commodity market strategist in Houston.

Natural gas has real opportunities for growth in the upper Midwest and nationally, especially in the industrial and transportation fuel sectors, Nicor Gas President Elizabeth Reese told the LDC Gas Forum Mid-Continent meeting Monday in Chicago.

With continued confidence that their proposed Gulf-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project will begin construction next year, Sempra Energy senior executives on Tuesday said they are looking for other market growth opportunities from the shale-driven U.S. natural gas supply boom.

The natural gas cash market added 2 cents on average overall Tuesday for Wednesday delivery with small gains and small losses at most points characterizing the day’s trading. Midwest points were mixed as weather outlooks held to seasonal norms, and Gulf points were a few pennies higher. At the close of lackluster futures trading September had drifted lower by 0.1 cent to $3.318 and October had eased 0.3 cent to $3.343. September crude oil dropped $1.26 to $105.30/bbl.

Chicago-based Trillium CNG said Wednesday it plans to build 101 compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations spread over 30 states, specializing in fast-fill technology for heavy-duty fleets.

Constellation Energy Gas Choice, a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corp. and a long-time competitive energy supplier in Ohio, said Tuesday that it has been selected by Trumbull County in northeastern Ohio to provide residents and small businesses with natural gas following a competitive bidding process under the state’s natural gas choice, governmental aggregation program.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, DC, against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, challenging the agency’s enforcement of its swap data record-keeping and reporting requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, DC, against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, challenging the agency’s enforcement of its swap data record-keeping and reporting requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.