Degree

The hot weather that had helped sustain moderate price increases during the previous two days was either already fading to some degree or about to do so in key northern market areas Thursday. The result was mixed price movement in trading for Friday flows, with mostly modest gains and losses close to evenly divided.

Continuing cold in a number of weekend forecasts, abetted to some degree by the previous day’s 4.6-cent gain by November futures, kept a majority of points on the rise Friday. However, anticipation of milder weather returning to several areas early this week combined with the usual weekend decline of industrial load to induce softness at a greater number of locations than on Thursday.

The recession has been impacting gas demand among residential and commercial consumers to a degree not seen in previous downturns, according to analysts at Barclays Capital. What type of recovery can be expected depends upon whether decline stems from structural changes or a temporary consumer pullback “that may wash out in the year ahead,” they said.

The recession has been impacting gas demand among residential and commercial consumers to a degree not seen in previous downturns, according to analysts at Barclays Capital. What type of recovery can be expected depends upon whether decline stems from structural changes or a temporary consumer pullback “that may wash out in the year ahead,” they said.

Other than highs starting to reach the 90-degree area again Wednesday in the Northeast and more modest warm-ups predicted in the Pacific Northwest, the market couldn’t count on much more cooling load than it had before Tuesday. Yet it found enough, coupled with screen support from the previous day’s 11.9-cent rebound by September futures, to achieve substantive gains at a majority of points Tuesday.

Dave Neslin, who has been acting director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission (COGCC) since November 2007, has been named director by state officials. Neslin, who holds a law degree, has run the commission in an acting capacity since it began to revamp the state’s natural gas and oil drilling rules. “After a rigorous testing and interview process, the commission unanimously recommended David Neslin and I am pleased to have him at the helm of the COGCC,” said Harris Sherman, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR),which oversees the commission. Sherman called Neslin “a consummate professional whose fairness and integrity will be invaluable assets as Colorado develops its rich natural gas resources.” Since August 2007 Neslin also had been serving as assistant director for energy and minerals within the DNR. He will step down from that position.

Noting forecasts of 30-degree temperatures in central and northern Florida Wednesday morning, Florida Gas Transmission issued an Overage Alert Day Tuesday, setting the tolerance for negative daily imbalances at 25%. The pipeline said it would not interrupt previously scheduled market-area ITS-1 service below the elapsed prorated scheduled quantity.

The cash market broke out of its trading pattern rut earlier this week to some degree Wednesday. There were still several flat to about a dime higher quotes in the Midcontinent, Rockies and a few other western locations, but not only were the gains much fewer than on Monday and Tuesday but also much smaller. Prices continued to soften at all points in the East outside the Midcontinent.

A British Columbia (BC) proposal for a northern Pacific liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal has converted itself into an export project, highlighting a 180-degree turn seen ahead for supplies when Canadian producers catch up to Americans in applying new technology.