Decline

Making a clean break from following the petroleum markets and possibly setting itself up for what is expected to be a bearish storage report Thursday morning, January natural gas futures traded lower on Wednesday.

With rising production costs and maturing basins, natural gas demand is moving pricing to a sustained level above $4/Mcf, which in turn may support a permanent liquefied natural gas (LNG) market in the United States, according to a report issued Thursday by Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

With rising production costs and maturing basins, natural gas demand is moving pricing to a sustained level above $4/Mcf, which in turn may support a permanent liquefied natural gas (LNG) market in the United States, according to a report issued Thursday by Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

With rising production costs and maturing basins, natural gas demand is moving pricing to a sustained level above $4/Mcf, which in turn may support a permanent liquefied natural gas (LNG) market in the United States, according to a report issued Thursday by Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

Natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to decline in the short term as old fields begin to mature and become exhausted, but will rebound beginning in 2008, reaching approximately 13.5 Bcf/d at its peak, said Rebecca Watson, assistant secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management.

Natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to decline in the short term as old fields begin to mature and become exhausted, but will rebound beginning in 2008, reaching approximately 13.5 Bcf/d at its peak, said Rebecca Watson, assistant secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management.

Natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to decline in the short term as old fields begin to mature and become exhausted, but will rebound beginning in 2008, reaching approximately 13.5 Bcf/d at its peak, said Rebecca Watson, assistant secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management.

Cash prices slipped another 10-35 cents on average Friday in response to the sharp decline in near-month futures a day earlier, 3.3 Tcf of gas in storage and the typical drop in weekend demand. By the end of the day on Friday, cash was down at least 80 cents from Monday’s levels at many locations.

Cash prices slipped another 10-35 cents on average Friday in response to the sharp decline in near-month futures a day earlier, 3.3 Tcf of gas in storage and the typical drop in weekend demand. By the end of the day on Friday, cash was down at least 80 cents from Monday’s levels at many locations.