Half

With a second merchant underground storage field set to open in the northern half of the state later this year and an existing one in the north proposing a sizable expansion, the push for at least one, if not two, new storage fields in Southern California has heated up this summer, according to industry observers.

Fueled by Wednesday’s 30.6-cent gain, natural gas futures surged higher at the open yesterday as traders salivated over the probability of another sub-100 Bcf storage figure next Wednesday. However, the combination of mild weather forecasts for the weekend and nervous new length proved to be too much, leaving bulls almost defenseless as prices cascaded lower in the afternoon. The August contract closed at $3.128, down 14.8 cents on its penultimate trading day.

For most of the summer, there has not been severe heat in the eastern half of the United States, but that could change by early next week, according to Salomon Smith Barney Meteorologist Jon Davis. With the presence of significant heat to trigger increased power generation for cooling demand in the Northeast, the strong tide of weekly storage injections could weaken a little.

High natural gas prices in the U.S. have energized spot trading in LNG shipments, with over half the cargoes received in the U.S. recently coming from spot sales, BP’s regional manager for the Americas and the Atlantic Basin said last week.

Consolidation in the energy industry in North America is expected to accelerate in the second half of 2001, particularly among independents oil and gas producers, according to the energy mergers and acquisitions team at PricewaterhouseCoopers. But acquirers run the risk of overpaying at what may be the high end of the pricing cycle.

Less than half of the electric power plants now in development in the United States are likely to be completed, according to an analysis of electricity and natural gas supply and demand by an energy analyst with the Williams Capital Group LP, a New York-based investment bank.

High natural gas prices in the United States have energized spot trading in LNG shipments, with over half the cargoes received in the U.S. recently coming from spot sales, BP’s regional manager for the Americas and the Atlantic Basin said last week.

Less than half of the electric power plants now in development in the United States are likely to be completed, according to an analysis of electricity and natural gas supply and demand by an energy analyst with the Williams Capital Group LP, a New York-based investment bank.

Consolidation in the energy industry in North America is expected to accelerate in the second half of 2001, particularly among independents, according to the energy mergers and acquisitions team at PricewaterhouseCoopers. But acquirers run the risk of overpaying at what may be the high end of the pricing cycle.