Gaps

Pennsylvania regulators say “improper” construction at Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. wells in northeastern Pennsylvania led to contamination at nearby private water wells.

With regulators increasing concerns about data gaps related to the pressure testing of sections of high-pressure natural gas transmission pipelines, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) this month has assumed a data-gathering approach, while refusing to speculate on how much of the 1,800 miles of transmission pipeline it has traversing high-consequence areas (HCA) may need testing.

Natural gas price gaps among different North American regions are narrowing as the recent surge of major pipeline expansions has opened bottlenecks and leveled the supply playing field. Sources indicated that some spreads will grow again when heating season arrives, but for the foreseeable future near-parity numbers will remain the general norm across the North American spot market.

Natural gas price gaps among different North American regions are narrowing as the recent surge of major pipeline expansions has opened bottlenecks and leveled the supply playing field. Sources indicated that some spreads will grow again when heating season arrives, but for the foreseeable future near-parity numbers will remain the general norm across the North American spot market.

The Committee of Chief Risk Officers (CCRO), pointing to gaps in gas price reporting during the March bidweek, has urged energy buyers and sellers to continue to submit data on transactions to “index developers” during the transition time until its complex and detailed new rules can be put in place. At the same time, another group, the Process Gas Consumers (PGC) representing end users whose processes require the use of natural gas, has advised FERC Chairman Pat Wood it is “strongly” opposed to the federal government taking a hand in the price reporting process for natural gas.

The Committee of Chief Risk Officers (CCRO), pointing to gaps in gas price reporting during the March bidweek, has urged energy buyers and sellers to continue to submit data on transactions to “index developers” during the transition time until its complex and detailed new rules can be put in place. (Note NGI has a material interest in this subject).

Formed when one day’s high is lower than an adjoining day’s low,chart gaps are a technical feature that garner plenty of marketattention. And over the last two weeks, natural gas traders havedone just that; attempting to fill the more than dime void leftbetween the $2.305 low from Dec. 30 and the $2.20 high from Jan. 4.Each day since then, they have steadily chipped away at the gap bymaking higher highs in each of the last seven trading sessions.That set the stage last Friday. Would the futures market crumbleunder the weight of sagging holiday weekend demand, or continuehigher to plug the hole up to $2.305? That question was answeredsuccinctly Friday morning when buyers, armed with fresh weatherforecasts and propelled by stop-loss buying, bid the Februarycontract 7 cents higher to a $2.322 close.

Natural Gas futures rallied again yesterday as traders reactedto colder-than-expected temperatures throughout much of the Midwestand Southeast. And similar to advances made last week, Monday’sprice action was fast and furious with the February contractleading the way and gapping 6 cents above Thursday’s high. However,once the $2.085 high for the day was reached about 10:30 EST, theprompt month was left to move sideways within a narrow trading bandfor the rest of the session, notching a 12.6-cent increase tofinish at $2.071.

For the first half of December, natural gas futures have been awhirlwind of volatility, where chart gaps and double-digit pricemoves have been almost the norm. So it came as a welcome change forsome when the prompt January contract exhibited a more sedatedemeanor Tuesday, trading within a narrow band and settlingunchanged for the day. Estimated volume was a relatively quiet50,593.