Factors

Wells Fargo analysts trimmed their peak ethane oversupply estimates by nearly 100,000 b/d based on a couple of factors, but they “continue to anticipate a period of ethane pricing weakness beginning in 2013 and persisting for several years until new world-scale ethylene crackers are placed into service,” they said in a note Monday.

January natural gas finished flat Friday, but other months eased as traders don’t see any bullish factors and cite a technical trading objective 50 cents lower. January settled unchanged at $3.127 and February eased 0.3 cent to $3.174. January crude oil fell 34 cents to $93.53/bbl.

Technology advances have driven the shale boom and the industry’s ability to analyze markets, but it isn’t any easier to answer the question of how long abundant supplies and low prices will characterize the natural gas industry. That was one of conclusions from three experts on a panel at the LDC Forum: Rockies & West conference on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

October natural gas futures jumped Tuesday on largely technical factors as traders hinted that any confirmation of a market bottom would require weathering the vagaries of Thursday’s inventory report. October rose 7.9 cents to $3.909 and November added 6.9 cents to $4.024. October crude oil added $1.63 to $88.90/bbl.

The pummeling of oil and natural gas producer stocks, which began last week, continued Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 634 points on the first day of trading after Standard & Poor’s (S&P) late Friday downgraded the United States credit rating from “AAA” to “AA+.”

Shale gas prices are likely to remain “reasonable” for years to come, despite possible upward pressure from hydraulic fracturing (fracking) issues, according to more than 700 executives and managers from utilities and other industry organizations who participated in a recent survey conducted by Black & Veatch.

Pennsylvania may be water-rich, but factors like permitting and geography make water increasingly difficult to come by for drilling operations, several Marcellus Shale players told a Pittsburgh-area audience last Wednesday and Thursday.

Pennsylvania may be water-rich, but factors like permitting and geography make water increasingly difficult to come by for drilling operations, several Marcellus Shale players told a Pittsburgh-area audience on Wednesday.

The near-term energy supply picture in the Pacific Northwest is adequate and wholesale power prices are moderated by a combination of factors including abundant natural gas supplies, according to a revised draft Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) released by Puget Sound Energy (PSE).