Heat

Last week’s overall price rally from Tuesday onward came to an end Friday as heat levels in the southern U.S. were expected to start retreating in some areas Saturday. The market also felt downward pressure from Thursday’s futures drop of 12.2 cents and the decline of industrial load that accompanies a weekend flow period.

With the extreme heat that has cooked much of North America over the past three weeks now in the market’s rear-view mirror and Tropical Depression Chris having faded into oblivion over Cuba during the weekend, most of the cash market continued to drop Monday. But several Rockies/Pacific Northwest/San Juan-Permian ranged from flat to about 60 cents in response to a total shutdown of the Opal (WY) Plant for Tuesday’s gas day (see Daily GPI, July 17).

As the bidding war for the common shares of Calgary-based Canada Southern Petroleum Ltd. continues to heat up (see Daily GPI, May 31; June 6), the company said Monday it welcomes Canadian Oil Sands’ announcement that it has reduced its minimum tender condition to 50.01%. Canada Southern added that Canadian Superior failed to meet its own deadline for filing an amended offer.

As the power struggle for market-share supremacy in the electronic energy trading platform arena continues to heat up, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) and the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) reported Friday that record volumes of trading were achieved on Thursday. The increased activity across the energy complex was sparked by petroleum supply concerns due to escalating violence in the Middle East, a Nigerian crude pipeline blast and a major refinery fire in Venezuela.

As the power struggle for marketshare supremacy in the electronic energy trading platform arena continues to heat up, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) and the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) reported Friday that record volumes of trading were achieved on Thursday. The increased activity across the energy complex was sparked by petroleum supply concerns due to escalating violence in the Middle East, a Nigerian crude pipeline blast and a major refinery fire in Venezuela.

Prices were up at nearly all points Wednesday as heat levels were on the rise in some areas, spurring extra power generation demand to keep air conditioners humming.

High U.S. heat levels outside the Northeast, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, a prior-day screen jump of 21.7 cents and the possibility of Tropical Storm Alberto being christened over the weekend pushed prices higher at a large majority of points Friday.

With heat levels rising significantly across the southern half of the U.S. and to a lesser extent in the Lower Midwest and Central/Upper Plains, the increase in power generation loads were enough to push prices higher at all points Monday despite futures weakness on the preceding Friday.

Prices were mildly softer for the most part Friday, but rising heat levels in the South and the resultant increase in competition for Gulf Coast supplies had some points trading flat to a little more than 15 cents higher. However, only three of the gains exceeded a couple of pennies.