Gradually

The pieces are in place to gradually lift natural gas prices over the next five years, and the gas market is proving that free markets, capitalism and economic fundamentals still work, Raymond James & Associates Inc. analysts said in a note Monday.

In its first forecast for 2014, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said it expects natural gas prices to “gradually rise but still remain relatively low” over the next 24 months, with Henry Hub prices averaging $3.74/MMBtu this year and $3.90/MMBtu in 2014, compared with $2.75/MMBtu in 2012.

In its first forecast for 2014, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said it expects natural gas prices to “gradually rise but still remain relatively low” over the next 24 months, with Henry Hub prices averaging $3.74/MMBtu this year and $3.90/MMBtu in 2014, compared with $2.75/MMBtu in 2012.

Citing the onslaught of shale gas volumes, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) Wednesday projected that dry natural gas production will increase significantly throughout 2040, outpacing domestic consumption by 2020 and spurring net exports of natural gas sooner than the agency had expected.

The United States will become the top producer of oil globally within five years, a net exporter of natural gas by 2020 and an oil exporter by close to 2030, all thanks to its massive unconventional resources, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Monday in its annual flagship publication, the World Energy Outlook (WEO).

Weather conditions along the Gulf Coast were gradually improving Thursday as Isaac, which had reached the Louisiana coast as a Category 1 hurricane, weakened and moved into northern Louisiana, but oil and natural gas operators were being cautious about returning to evacuated facilities in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

An environmental group is suing Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, claiming that his administration is misusing revenue from Marcellus Shale development on state lands. Although Corbett is being sued, most of the actions cited in the litigation first were undertaken by his predecessor Ed Rendell.

It wasn’t as bad as it might have been. That was the most optimistic assessment of Hurricane Irene’s (gradually being downgraded) weekend cruise along the Atlantic Seaboard. Most points continued to weaken a bit Monday as the impact of lost power generation load along the East Coast was being felt, but residual pockets of high heat resulted in quite a few flat to higher numbers.

With a wee bit of help from prior-day screen firmness, gradually growing demand for power generation gas supplies to keep air conditioners running caused most cash market locations to realize substantive increases Tuesday. Even though odds of a Bay of Campeche low-pressure area becoming a named tropical storm didn’t get raised to 90% until well into the afternoon, just the chance of that happening so early in hurricane season may have been a modestly bullish factor to some traders.