Figures

After an initial push higher failed to break above overhead resistance, natural gas futures tumbled lower Wednesday as traders balanced their positions ahead of the most anticipated storage report in nearly a year, which is set to be released on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EST. Except for a pause near noon EST, the selling pressure was steady throughout the session, pressing the prompt month down to support near the $6.10 level. February closed at $6.15, down 14.1 cents for the session.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has signed a data sharing agreement and formed an information gathering partnership with the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC), an organization of governors that represents 37 oil and gas producing states. The pact is part of a broader government effort to improve EIA’s natural gas supply data, which has a significant time lag and often goes through multiple revisions, sometime more than a year after the fact.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has signed a data sharing agreement and formed an information gathering partnership with the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC), an organization of governors who represent 37 oil and gas producing states. The pact is part of a broader government effort to improve EIA’s natural gas supply data, which has a significant time lag and often goes through multiple revisions, sometime more than a year after the fact.

With the recent string of record-setting storage injection figures still fresh in their memories, natural gas futures traders punished the market yet again Wednesday as expectations for Thursday’s data update continue to call for another triple-digit storage build. Adding to losses from the overnight Access trading session, the August futures contract dove lower at 10:30 a.m. EDT to notch a new three-month low at $5.08. August closed at $5.199, down 11.8 cents.

While noting that the figures may differ quite considerably from the final numbers that will be reported on July 29, BP on Wednesday released a trading update that provided an overview of the revenue and trading conditions it experienced during the second quarter ending June 30, 2003.

corrected 9/13/02

The difference between wellhead prices and Henry Hub prices between August 1996 and December 2000 averaged 32 cents/Mcf, with Hub prices averaging 10.8% higher, according to a study by the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). However, the median value between the two of 24 cents/Mcf may be a better measure, EIA said.

As exploration and production companies begin to release their third quarter production figures, early results show equal volumes or a slight decline compared to the same quarter a year ago. Dominion and Occidental Petroleum Corp., which announced earnings on Wednesday, both revealed slight production declines.

If you are a futures bear, it goes without saying that you have had quite a run over the past eight months. After all, the market has repeatedly given you price-negative technical and fundamental news on which to trade. And even when the market was hit with a bullish influence such as a tropical storm or a round of short-covering, the rally has been short-lived. In possibly the crowning example of this bearishness, the American Gas Association announced yesterday not only that a whopping 86 Bcf had been injected into storage last week, but also that they were forced to revise — as many market participants had expected — the refill from the week prior from 3 Bcf to 50 Bcf.