Huge

New well techniques have unlocked a potentially huge natural gas play that borders the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, with various third-party estimates putting original gas in place (OGIP) in a wide range of between 50 Tcf and 700 Tcf.

The Dene First Nation on Wednesday threatened to withhold its support for the Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP) unless the Canadian government moves to protect a huge swath of land in the Northwest Territories. The aboriginal group lays claim to land that covers about 40% of the proposed pipe route.

High commodity prices, strong balance sheets and a lack of large-scale organic growth opportunities led to several huge consolidation deals within the U.S. energy sector in the past year, but comparatively fewer transactions were announced by its neighbor to the north. That could be about to change, UBS energy analysts said last week.

High commodity prices, strong balance sheets and a lack of large-scale organic growth opportunities led to several huge consolidation deals within the U.S. energy sector in the past year, but its neighbor to the north has been relatively quiet. That could be about to change, UBS energy analysts said in a new report.

The tremendous heat of the last few weeks is having a huge impact on gas demand from power generation and has taken a substantial chunk out of the gas storage surplus. According to early market predictions, this week’s storage report could show another small net injection or possibly no injection at all for the week ending Aug. 4, which (given no change in storage) would leave the storage surplus at only about 13% over levels last year compared to a 15% surplus (year over year) a week earlier and a peak of 39% on March 17.

A cold front moving in to cool off the previously sizzling Northeast and huge negative pressure from Monday’s screen plunge helped ensure that cash prices fell Tuesday at all points except one, which saw a tiny gain.

President Bush on Tuesday called for a cutback in the use of natural gas for power generation in order to reduce the “huge pressure” on domestic gas supply and prices.

The February aftermarket got off to a strong beginning Tuesday with advances across the board. They were spurred largely by the screen’s huge run-up of nearly 90 cents the day before and to a lesser degree by modest growth in heating load.

The year 2005 will be remembered for its hurricanes and record-setting natural gas prices, events that continuously grabbed the top headlines in the Natural Gas Intelligence newsletters, making them the longest-running top stories for the industry. Besides the actual hurricanes and consequent price spikes, it appeared that nearly everyone in a position to be quoted — congressmen, regulators, analysts, advocates, and industry executives — had comments, warnings, or prognostications about the events that roiled the industry. Other events — while important — only sporadically managed to shove hurricanes and prices out of the spotlight.