Double

In an effort to begin expansion of its Kern River natural gas pipeline to more than double what is currently transported, Williams reported that it has ordered more than 700 miles of 36-inch and 42-inch pipe so that the increased capacity can be in place by May 2003. The company said the expansion will provide 906 MMcf/d of additional transportation capacity from Wyoming to California.

In an effort to begin expansion of its Kern River natural gas pipeline to more than double what is currently transported, Williams reported that it has ordered more than 700 miles of 36-inch and 42-inch pipe so that the increased capacity can be in place by May 2003. The company said the expansion will provide 906 MMcf/d of additional transportation capacity from Wyoming to California.

With the exception of hefty double-digit upticks at California points, the rest of the cash market was mostly an array of flatness mixed with small increases and decreases Tuesday. Expectations of another large storage injection figure this afternoon and the approach of cooldowns in key market areas such as the Northeast had several sources looking for general softness today.

Westcoast CEO Michael Phelps said last week the company is planning to double the capacity of the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline system to transport more than 1.2 Bcf/d in five years but expects an additional expansion to 2 Bcf/d by the end of the decade.

Westcoast CEO Michael Phelps said yesterday the company is planning to double the capacity of the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline system to transport more than 1.2 Bcf/d in five years but expects an additional expansion to 2 Bcf/d by the end of the decade.

With a twist of irony that made even the most seasoned traders shake their heads, natural gas futures rebounded strongly yesterday afternoon, just moments after fresh storage data was released showing that the year-on-year storage deficit has finally been eliminated. With that the market broke a string of seven-straight Wednesday losses as traders propelled the new prompt month July contract up 17.1 cents to close at $3.981.

Given the double-barreled demand for natural gas by power generators and storage, spot gas prices will average an “unseasonably strong” $4.65/Mcf during this spring and summer, and $5/Mcf for the entire year, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) last week. This compares to projections by Dynegy Marketing and Trade and PanCanadian Energy Services of $3.50/Mcf to $5.50/Mcf for the remainder of the year.

Prices emerged from the weekend to resume the slide that dominated much of last week’s market. Only the California border-SoCalGas managed to show a gain for the day as a terribly weak screen, continued lack of fundamental support and expectations of another big storage injection report this week combined to push nearly all points down between 10 and 20 cents Monday.

Given the double-barreled demand for natural gas by power generators and storage, spot gas prices will average an “unseasonably strong” $4.65/Mcf during this spring and summer, and $5/Mcf for the entire year, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).