Double

The expiring August natural gas contract is set to open a penny higher Tuesday morning at $3.76 as traders square positions ahead of contract expiration yet still see plump storage builds containing any price rallies. Overnight oil markets were mixed.

The 195-mile Double Eagle Pipeline, designed to deliver Eagle Ford Shale condensate to Corpus Christi, TX, is in full operation, owners Magellan Midstream Partners and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners said Thursday.

The number of natural gas vehicles (NGV) worldwide will nearly double between now and 2020, according to a report released last week by Navigant Research. NGVs on the roadway will increase steadily from 18.2 million now to 34.9 million by 2020, Navigant said.

Global deepwater drilling activity is going on a rampage, with spending set to more than double over the coming decade, according to Wood Mackenzie.

Global deepwater drilling activity is going on a rampage, with spending set to more than double over the coming decade, according to Wood Mackenzie.

Physical natural gas prices Wednesday for Thursday delivery fell an average of 8 cents nationally as double-digit, power-driven declines in the East and Northeast prompted declines in next-day gas that at some points exceeded $1.00. On the West Coast, however, prices made small advances as the independent system operator predicted high next-day power loads. At the close of trading the expiring July contract had added 6.0 cents to $3.707 and August rose 6.7 cents to $3.737. August crude oil gained 18 cents to $95.50/bbl.

The number of natural gas vehicles (NGV) worldwide will nearly double between now and 2020, according to a report released Tuesday by Navigant Research. NGVs on the roadway will increase steadily from 18.2 million now to 34.9 million by 2020, Navigant said.

Shale gas development in Australia will be an expensive proposition, with infrastructure costs double those in the United States, according to a 252-page report by the Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA).

U.S. natural gas prices may never return to the double digits of yesteryear, but there are “a lot of reasons” to see some upside in pricing going forward, Apache Corp. CEO G. Steven Farris said last week at Sanford Bernstein’s 29th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference 2013.