Fueled

Fueled by heat concerns and an upward revision in projected Atlantic hurricane activity, September natural gas futures kept their upward momentum Tuesday as the contract continued to take out old continuation highs.

Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co., has signed a purchase and sale agreement with Constellation Energy to purchase a 680 MW, dual-fueled simple-cycle generating plant in Cocoa, FL, for $206 million.

Natural gas futures climbed modestly higher Wednesday, fueled by cautious optimism over expectations of a large storage draw set to be announced Thursday morning combined with an increasingly bullish technical outlook. The March contract closed at $6.376, up 6 cents for the session, but down more than a dime from its $6.48 high on the day.

Fueled by a bullish petroleum inventory report mixed with continued buying euphoria from speculative fund accounts, November natural gas futures shot to a new 20-month prompt-contract high on Wednesday. As of 2 p.m. (EDT), the prompt month reached a high of $7.75, a 62.7-cent premium over Tuesday’s settle and 31 cents above the high reached on Oct. 7. It settled at $7.623, up 50 cents.

Fueled by the abundance of liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal proposals in the northwest corner of Mexico, the North Baja Pipeline reported Thursday that its six-month open season for expanded future capacity drew interest totaling about 5.5 Bcf/d. The current pipeline running from the Arizona-California border through the northern end of Baja is fully subscribed for its 500 MMcf/d capacity.

Fueled by the abundance of liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal proposals in the northwest corner of Mexico, the North Baja Pipeline reported Thursday that its six-month open season for expanded future capacity drew interest totaling about 5.5 Bcf/d. The current pipeline running from the Arizona-California border through the northern end of Baja California Norte is fully subscribed for its 500 MMcf/d capacity.

Higher oil and gas prices fueled strong quarterly earnings reports last week, with the bulk of the major and top independent oil and gas companies, including BP plc, Exxon Mobil Corp., ChevronTexaco and ConocoPhillips reporting. Also reporting last week were some of the top North American independents, including EnCana, Talisman Energy Inc., Kerr-McGee Corp. and Pioneer Natural Resources.

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.

Natural gas and petroleum products are the second most heavily traded category of futures contracts on organized exchanges, after financial products, according to a new Energy Information Administration (EIA) report released last month. The government agency noted that the growth in derivatives — i.e., futures, options, swaps and forwards — points out just how volatile energy markets are.