Greater

November natural gas rose on heavy volume Thursday in spite of an inventory report that indicated increases not only greater than historical norms but also higher than what analysts expected.

November natural gas weakened again Friday as traders digested reports of additional drilling for natural gas and a production dynamic that continues to point to greater output. At the close November had fallen 8.1 cents to $3.666 and December had given up 5.3 cents to $3.962. November crude oil retreated $2.94 to $79.20/bbl.

Shale gas production is projected to increase to the point where it becomes the dominant domestic gas supply over the next two decades, but it brings with it the “greatest source of uncertainty” facing North American gas markets, according to the Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions.

September natural gas futures rose Tuesday on a combination of technical buying and weather forecasts calling for greater heat at Midwest points. At the close September had risen 10.4 cents to $3.993 and October had gained 9.9 cents to $3.968. October crude oil gained $1.02 to $85.44/bbl.

August natural gas futures closed lower Thursday following the weekly government inventory report showing stocks were built at a greater rate than had been anticipated.

Expanded use of combined heat and power (CHP) systems, which recover and make use of waste heat from power generation, could be a means of growing demand for Marcellus Shale natural gas, according to the Commonwealth Recycled Energy Economic Development Alliance (CREEDA).

The combination of continued warm to hot forecasts in many areas and the return of industrial load from the greater declines of a low-demand holiday weekend generated strong price increases nearly across the board Tuesday. Generally hot weather is expected to continue at least into mid-July in much of the eastern two-thirds of the U.S.

Hoping to lead the nation in greater exploitation of domestic energy resources, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell and state Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan Thursday touted a plan to tap the state’s oil reserves and refill the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), with the hope of shipping 1 million b/d of oil on TAPS within a decade.

Prospects of greater heat levels returning this week had prices rebounding at a large majority of trading locations Monday. The previous Friday’s rise of 3.6 cents by prompt-month futures and the return of industrial load from its usual weekend decline were additional minor bullish factors.