Giving

Cheniere LNG Marketing and Scottish Power PLC subsidiary PPM Energy Inc., made a 10-year purchase and sale agreement, giving Cheniere the ability to sell to PPM up to 600,000 MMBtu/d of gas at a Henry Hub-related index price and calling for Cheniere to allocate to PPM a portion of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) that it procures under certain long-term supply agreements.

Giving futures market bulls quite a fright on Halloween, December natural gas took out support in the $12.68-70 area in Sunday’s overnight Access trading session and kept the downward pressure in place during Monday’s regular session. December ended up settling at $12.205, down 85 cents from Friday’s close. Prompt-month futures haven’t settled this low since Sept. 16, when October natural gas closed at $11.144.

As part of a broad overview of the state’s updated Energy Action Plan (EAP II), a San Francisco-based environmental leader who strongly endorses the plan’s emphasis on giving first priority to energy efficiency and renewables threw his support to the need for new natural gas-fired power plants and eventually a coastal liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility.

Cash prices collapsed between 50 cents and more than $1 on Thursday, giving back about a third of what they have gained since bidweek, in response to continued futures weakness, slightly cooler weather in some markets and a somewhat larger than expected 52 Bcf weekly storage injection.

FERC approved a new market link for Rockies gas Tuesday, giving the go-ahead for construction of EnCana’s Entrega Gas Pipeline, featuring 328 miles of 36- and 42-inch, line from the Piceance Basin through the Wamsutter Basin and Hub in Sweetwater County, WY, to the Cheyenne gas trading hub in Weld County, CO, where several eastbound pipelines converge.

After giving the appearance in Wednesday morning trading that natural gas futures were headed higher for a seventh consecutive day, the September contract ended up pulling off of its highs and exploring lower, before settling near unchanged.

Giving back almost everything gained on Monday, June natural gas futures on Tuesday traded between $6.31 and $6.47 before settling 5.8 cents lower on the day at $6.349. The settle lower was significant in the fact that trading on Tuesday saw somewhat of a divergence between natural gas futures and petroleum futures.

After trading significantly lower in overnight Nymex Access activity, April natural gas futures went on to set a session low of $6.63 on Monday morning, giving the appearance that the $6.55 support level of the current futures range could be in danger. Despite the scare, the prompt month rebounded in the afternoon to finish the day at $6.714, down 3 cents on the day.

FERC has issued an amended certificate giving Trunkline Gas Co. LLC the go-ahead to increase the size of an agency-approved looping project that would serve affiliate Trunkline LNG’s expansion of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Lake Charles, LA.