Christening

Anyone watching North American natural gas prices might blanch at the thought of christening a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, but Spain’s Repsol forged ahead recently with the opening of its Canaport facility at Mispec Point, near Saint John, NB. Repsol Energy North America (RENA) President Phil Ribbeck noted that winter is coming and he expects cargo traffic to ramp up soon and into next year.

The 2 p.m. EDT christening Monday of Tropical Storm Gustav by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) came well after cash trading — in which all but a few western points fell — had been completed. But it got the attention of Nymex traders who, after taking the September futures contract to a low of $7.617, had it closing out the day’s regular session at $7.825, down 1.8 cents, following the Gustav news.