Data

Without another large storage injection to pull the rug out from under the market (AGA delayed its report until Thursday), technical factors and a short-term cold front that’s expected to move across the Midwest and Northeast later in the week enabled November gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange to continue climbing Wednesday. The near-month contract reached a high of $2.360 and settled at $2.320, which was a 5.2-cent daily increase. The daily low was $2.270.

FERC last week denied a request by major offshore pipelines to bar public disclosure of information that they are required to submit to the Commission under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).

FERC yesterday denied a request by major offshore pipelines to bar public disclosure of information that they are required to submit to the Commission under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).

Based on data from the first half of the year, Raymond James Energy projects a North American production increase of 3% or 2.25 Bcf/d for 2001, including 1.5 Bcf/d of U.S. production and 0.75 Bcf/d from Canada. Going forward, that’s not likely to be enough and “it is likely that a certain amount of gas demand will need to be removed from the market, thereby setting the stage for higher long-term gas prices.” This bears out the group’s projection for long-term gas prices of between $3.50 and $5.50/MMBtu.

In a session notably void of fresh fundamental or technical news, natural gas futures moved sideways yesterday as many traders opted to wait until the beginning of the three-day settlement period and the release of storage figures today before placing their orders. At $2.97 the August contract finished 0.8 cents lower on the day and just about in the middle of its 3-day $2.915-$3.01, trading range. Volume was relatively weak with just 61,764 contracts changing hands.

After another large storage injection volume from AGA and the screen’s accompanying plunge Wednesday, it wasn’t a very tough call to predict falling cash numbers Thursday. Sure enough, a price rout was on as nearly all points fell by about a quarter or more when fundamental demand factors proved unable to make up for the twin depressants of a further futures drop Thursday and the record-setting pace of storage refills so early in the injection season.

El Paso Natural Gas has called on FERC Chief Administrative Law Judge Curtis Wagner Jr. to take steps to prevent the further release to the media of “highly sensitive marketing materials” that it has been required to turn over as part of discovery in a complaint case brought against it.

El Paso Natural Gas has called on FERC Chief Administrative Law Judge Curtis Wagner Jr. to take steps to prevent the further release to the media of “highly sensitive marketing materials” that it has been required to turn over as part of discovery in a complaint case brought against it.

On the heels of bearish storage data released yesterday afternoon and ahead of the three-day weekend, gas futures tumbled lower for the second time in the last eight trading sessions Wednesday as speculative longs headed for the exits. The May contract was thehardest hit by the selling. It tumbled 17.4 cents to close at $5.385. Nearly as battered was the 12-month strip, which took back 15.2 cents of its recent advance toclose at $5.479.