Extending

After receiving FERC approval Gulfstream Natural Gas System on Tuesday placed its Phase II pipeline facilities in Florida into service, extending the reach of the pipeline by 110 more miles across the Sunshine State and providing 350 MMcf/d of additional long-term firm transportation service.

Except for losses getting a little larger and extending to as much as 20 cents or so, Monday’s swing market was almost a carbon copy of that on Friday — mostly moderate declines with a smidgen of firmness at a few points.

SGR Holdings LLC said it is holding an open season from Nov. 5 to Dec. 5 to test market interest in extending the Southern Pines Energy Center pipeline/storage header north to interconnect directly with Southern Natural Gas Co. and Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Mississippi. The 12 Bcf Southern Pines salt dome gas storage field, which already has a FERC certificate, is expected to begin providing high-deliverability storage services in 2005.

SGR Holdings LLC said it is holding an open season from Nov. 5 to Dec. 5 to test market interest in extending the Southern Pines Energy Center pipeline/storage header north to interconnect directly with Southern Natural Gas Co. and Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Mississippi. The 12 Bcf Southern Pines salt dome gas storage field, which already has a FERC certificate, is expected to begin providing high-deliverability storage services in 2005.

With a cold front gradually extending its reach into the Midcontinent and forecasts of frigid weather later this week in the key market areas of the Midwest and Northeast, prices were mixed on either side of flat Tuesday, but gains tended to outweigh the losses.

Pacific Gas & Electric tightened the tolerance for positive daily imbalances from 9% to 6% in extending a Stage 2 high-inventory OFO through at least Saturday.

After extending to new five-month highs on news that a whopping 48 Bcf was pulled from storage reserves during the previous week, natural gas futures sifted lower in the late morning and afternoon Thursday on profit-taking ahead of the weekend. At $5.709, May futures finished in the bottom half of its daily trading range, up 3.2 cents for the session but more than a dime off its $5.83 high notched earlier in the day.

Extending losses that began last Wednesday afternoon, the December natural gas futures contract sank to new two-month lows Monday, as traders returned from the weekend to learn of bearishly revised weather forecasts. Heavy over-the-counter selling was seen early Monday morning and that translated into a gap lower opening when the regular open-outcry session commenced at 10 a.m. EDT. December never looked back, funneling 19.7 cents lower to close at $3.863.

After extending to new 18-month highs on forecasts calling for cool weather through the rest of the month, natural gas futures reversed lower yesterday amid weakness in the nearby crude oil pit. For the gas market, the selling came in two distinct surges — one in the late morning hours and the other near the 2:30 p.m. EDT closing bell. The November contract finished at $4.157, down 8.2 cents for the session and a whopping 26.3 cents off its new high.