Concerns

Environmental concerns seem to be trumping energy security needs when it comes to the issue of drilling in the waters off two pristine Northern California counties 100 miles up the coast from San Francisco, according to stakeholders on both sides of the issue.

Environmental concerns seem to be trumping energy security needs when it comes to the issue of drilling in the waters off two pristine Northern California counties 100 miles up the coast from San Francisco, according to stakeholders on both sides of the issue.

April natural gas futures kept to a tight 15.5-cent range Tuesday before closing 9 cents higher at $9.419 as traders mulled supply concerns, weather uncertainties and the potential impact of a U.S. economic recession.

Natural gas futures values took their second consecutive session beating on Monday as Wall Street investment bank concerns dominated the chatter among traders. April natural gas dropped 76.8 cents Monday to close at $9.100, while April crude shrank by $4.53 to close at $105.68/bbl.

Citing reliability and corrosion concerns, Dominion East Ohio has filed an application with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) seeking approval to implement a “major” natural gas pipeline replacement program. Over a 25-year span, Dominion hopes to replace nearly 20% of the company’s 21,000-mile pipeline system.

Full electrical power has been restored to a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker that lost propulsion off the Massachusetts coast early Monday, according to the Coast Guard Boston Command Center.

In its first regular session action as prompt-month contract, March natural gas futures — propelled by cold in the Midwest, inflation concerns and rumors of a record storage withdrawal — ran up to a high of $8.130 before finishing Wednesday at $8.045, up 10.2 cents from Tuesday’s close.

Influenced by yet another day of economic concerns and unsupportive weather forecasts, February natural gas futures continued to explore lower price levels on Wednesday, reaching a low of $7.585 before closing out the session at $7.621, down 4.9 cents from Tuesday. While the decline was a far cry from Tuesday’s 32.3-cent massacre, traders are still hard-pressed to locate any supportive fundamentals.

February natural gas futures continued to scout lower prices Wednesday as temperature forecasts continued to moderate and economy concerns ran rampant. The prompt-month contract put in a low of $8.090 before settling the day at $8.133, down 6.3 cents from Tuesday’s close.