Finish

Arizona regulators are expected to finish their current review and decide whether to beef up the state’s natural gas infrastructure, including first-ever storage, by some time in September, a Phoenix-based spokesperson for the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) said Monday.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) urged key Democrats last Thursday to reconsider their objection to filing energy bill amendments by July 23 so that the Senate can complete the long-awaited legislation during the final week before the August recess.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) urged key Democrats Thursday to reconsider their objection to filing energy bill amendments by July 23 so that the Senate can complete the long-awaited legislation during the last week before August recess.

Fueled by the first real blast of warm air of the cooling season, natural gas futures prices rallied and retreated Monday as traders alleviated oversold conditions and then turned and took profits. Local traders were active in the price movement, adding liquidity and volatility to the gas pit at Nymex.

After carving out a 19-cent range in the first 90 minutes of trading, the natural gas futures market moved quietly sideways Tuesday as traders deliberated over the clash between short-term bearish factors and longer-term (bullish) uncertainty. The June contract closed at $6.056, up 4.1 cents for the session, and more than 15 cents above its morning low at $5.90. At just 57,635, estimated volume Tuesday indicated a quiet futures pit with action led by local traders.

Following a four-day period where natural gas futures rallied 10%, traders elected to play it safe Friday ahead of the weekend. Sensing technical support overhead, bulls were not in the buying mood. Bears meanwhile were also quiet, still licking their wounds from the bear trap that resulted in a 43-cent rally last Monday. The June contract finished at $5.806, up 3.4 cents for the session and 55.1 cents higher for the week.

After closing below the $5.00 mark last Thursday for the first time since early January, natural gas futures traded quickly sideways Friday as neither bull nor bear could muster the buying or selling required to budge the market.

After tumbling lower during the first hour of trading, natural gas futures rebounded late Friday morning as traders covered shorts in an effort to minimize their exposure should a bullish development — either geopolitical or weather related — emerge over the long holiday weekend. In an abbreviated session cut short at 1 p.m. EST ahead of the Monday holiday, the March contract closed at $5.851, up 11.1 cents on the day, but down 19.2 cents for the week. Futures will reopen Monday at 7 p.m in Access trading with regular open-outcry trading set to resume at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Horizon Pipeline, a joint venture of Nicor Inc. and Kinder Morgan’s Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL) three years in the making, has begun delivering gas in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, ahead of rival project Guardian Pipeline. Gas began flowing through the $80 million Horizon line May 11 following final approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) (see NGI, May 13).