Even

In terms of volatility, the cash market came to a near-standstill Wednesday as gains and losses were approximately even and only a few locations ventured more than a nickel in either direction.

Shale gas plays have been a magnet for energy deals, and that was even more true last year, which saw a record dollar value for upstream energy mergers and acquisitions (M&A), driven largely by shale-related activity, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

Philadelphia officials on Tuesday directed the city-owned natural gas utility not to buy Marcellus Shale gas until more is known about the safety of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking).

Nobody is proclaiming winter as “over” yet, but the worst is past as far as many are concerned. The downhill slope for Northeast citygates grew even steeper Friday, and most other points joined them with more mundane losses. Several scattered points ran against the overall market grain by being flat to about a dime higher.

Pressure pumping companies experienced a “monster” year in 2010 but even with new equipment being readied, demand is forecast to increase through the year, driven by growth in horizontal drilling and increased hydraulic fracturing (fracking) intensity, energy analysts said last week.

Pressure pumping companies experienced a “monster” year in 2010 but even with new equipment being readied, demand is forecast to increase through the year, driven by growth in horizontal drilling and increased hydraulic fracturing (fracking) intensity, energy analysts said Monday.

Despite some of the year’s coldest weather being on the way in several regions — outstripping even the often-severe conditions through the middle of last week — a large majority of the cash market recorded moderate losses Friday. The previous day’s prompt-month futures drop of 17.1 cents and the weekend decline of industrial load tended to offset the expected return of major heating demand.

Southern said Friday its market-area forecast called for warmer temperatures Saturday “and then turning dramatically colder for Sunday and even colder into [this] week.” It was extremely likely that storage withdrawal requirements would exceed system capability coming out of the weekend, Southern said, so an OFO Type 6 for short imbalances will take effect Monday until further notice. Tiered penalties will apply to negative daily imbalances exceeding 2% or 200 Dth, whichever is greater. Southern added that it will not be accepting nominations for due-shipper imbalance makeups and will evaluate on each scheduling cycle nominations for interruptible services that rely on storage withdrawals.

Natural gas futures took a break from the downside Wednesday as near-term weather forecasts got even chillier for a number of heavy gas-usage regions in the East. January natural gas futures recorded a high of $4.324 before closing out the regular session at $4.269, up 8.9 cents from Tuesday’s finish.