Coronavirus

FERC and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) said Thursday they are taking steps to ensure that operators of the U.S. bulk electric system “can focus their resources on keeping people safe and the lights on” during the coronavirus emergency.

Taking cues from gains in equity markets as concerns over a coronavirus-driven economic slowdown continue, natural gas futures were trading slightly higher early Friday. The April Nymex contract was up 1.5 cents to $1.669/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

The Canadian oil and gas sector is adapting to the Covid-19 pandemic by embracing increasingly diligent measures.

More than 3,000 people based in Houston have been furloughed by Halliburton Co., while ConocoPhillips and other big producers continue to cut capital spending in an increasingly dire situation, as the coronavirus and oil price war sink 2020 operating plans.

Canada’s C$40 billion ($30 billion) inaugural natural gas export project on the west coast has remained on schedule despite the global Covid-19 outbreak, project managers said in an update.

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on life in general, and for the energy industry, the next few months may prove to be make or break, as capital spending plans are cut and employees move to home offices.

A weak economic outlook and waning demand brought on by extreme efforts to halt the spread of the coronavirus across the continent have caused natural gas prices to spiral in Europe, a major destination for U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG).

With day-to-day life upended by the coronavirus outbreak and stocks plummeting, natural gas futures sagged under the pressure as markets weighed the prospect of demand destruction from the nation’s new social distancing regimen. The April Nymex contract fell 5.4 cents to settle at $1.815/MMBtu after trading in a range from $1.778 to $1.854.

Mirroring the rebound in stocks, natural gas futures were trading sharply higher early Friday, helped by colder trends in the latest weather data. The April Nymex contract was up 8.0 cents to $1.921/MMBtu at around 8:40 a.m. ET.