Failing

Undeterred after failing on two prior attempts to site liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals, TransCanada Corp. said it has teamed up with Petro-Canada to develop an LNG facility, named Cacouna Energy, in Gros Cacouna, PQ, about nine miles northeast of Riviere-du-Loup. The proposed terminal would have average sendout capacity of 500 MMcf/d.

Despite failing to break back above the $6 mark, August natural gas futures on Tuesday were able to rally following Monday’s 28.4-cent depth-charge. The prompt month reached a low Tuesday of $5.820, but was able to climb back up to settle at $5.905, a 4.8-cent boost on the day.

Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) has accused President Bush of failing to deliver on any of the promised benefits in his national energy plan, which marked its three-year anniversary last week.

After failing to move above last week’s high despite a positive open, the natural gas futures market turned lower Monday as speculative traders reestablished short positions. Concerns that this week’s storage report will feature a small net drawdown also added to the bearish price sentiment, prompting buyers to pull back their bids.

Failing to find two additional votes, Republican-led proponents abandoned all hope late Monday of passing omnibus energy legislation in the Senate before adjourning, effectively stranding the bill in Congress until next year. GOP leaders vowed to pick up where they left off when they return in late January.

After failing to attract any bids on two Burgos Basin blocks, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) said two international groups are competing to develop non-associated natural gas reserves in the Fronterizo, one of the basin’s smaller blocks.

A number of leading mainstream newspapers across the nation, both conservative and liberal, have come out in opposition to the Republican-crafted omnibus energy bill, calling it a mishmash of tax breaks and subsidies for special interest groups rather than a serious stab at bolstering energy supplies and infrastructure. They urged the Senate to filibuster the measure and go back to the drawing board.

After failing to attract any bids on two Burgos Basin blocks, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) said two international groups are competing to develop non-associated natural gas reserves in the Fronterizo, one of the basin’s smaller blocks.

A House of Representatives task force, set up on an emergency basis to explore possible actions to shore up failing supplies of natural gas, may consider elimination of the congressional moratoria on oil and gas drilling on the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) as a possible remedy, a knowledgeable Capitol Hill aide said last week.