Consensus

Canadian natural gas exporters continue to make gains, defying consensus forecasts that their role as suppliers to “continental” North American trading will fade due to shrinking reserves and rising industrial demand in Alberta.

Canadian natural gas exports defied consensus forecasts by increasing in the last international trading year (see NGI, Dec. 17, 2007), prompting the nation’s top pipeline to suggest that the true trend is a change in the quality of production instead of its quantity.

Canadian natural gas exports defied consensus forecasts by increasing in the last international trading year (see Daily GPI, Dec. 17, 2007), prompting the nation’s top pipeline to suggest that the true trend is a change in the quality of production instead of its quantity.

The United Nations (UN) issued its fourth and final report on global climate change last Saturday, putting an exclamation point on the growing consensus that global warming is real, humans have contributed significantly to it and an international effort will be needed to mitigate and reverse its potential negative impacts. It leaves the energy industry facing greater pressures, particularly the coal sector.

There should be a comfortable natural gas supply and demand balance through 2011 in the Pacific Northwest, according to the latest consensus regional outlook published by the Northwest Gas Association, a trade organization of nine major interstate pipelines and distribution utilities in Idaho, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.

There should be a comfortable natural gas supply and demand balance through 2011 in the Pacific Northwest, according to the latest consensus regional outlook published by the Northwest Gas Association, a trade organization of nine major interstate pipelines and distribution utilities in Idaho, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.

Even though the 85 Bcf injection for the week ended May 5 was only slightly above the industry consensus, the build, plus an influx of selling at $7.00, were just enough to take the legs out of Wednesday’s natural gas futures rally. June natural gas traded within a range from $6.580 to $7.000 before settling at $6.649, down 25.1 cents on the day.

Canadian natural gas exports continue to defy conventional wisdom by growing instead of living up to consensus forecasts of production tapering off in aging fields, trade records kept by the U.S. Department of Energy show.

Natural Gas Council (NGC) members on Wednesday will present to FERC the results of a 14-month long effort to reach a consensus on the hot-button issues involving the energy content of the domestic gas stream and imported liquefied natural gas (LNG).