The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Tuesday warned the public to beware of claims that damage caused by Hurricane Katrina will bolster the profitability of trading in crude oil, unleaded gasoline, heating oil, natural gas or other commodity futures or options.
Hurricane
Articles from Hurricane
Sempra ‘Philosophy’ Evident in Proposed Rockies Pipeline Project, CFO Says
With its prospective liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal business well underway, even in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, San Diego-based Sempra Energy’s core “philosophy of doing business” is now clearly illustrated by its proposed joint venture with Kinder Morgan to build a $3 billion, 1,500-mile natural gas pipeline from the Rockies into the upper Midwest and East, according to Neal Schmale, Sempra’s CFO, speaking Thursday at the Lehman Brothers energy conference in New York City.
Analyst: LNG Imports Expected to Grow Sharply This Winter
If gas production shut-ins from damaged facilities due to Hurricane Katrina continue into the coming winter, significant stress could be placed on the market and prices almost certainly would be pressured even higher. However, the market might finally get some help from a source that has been in surprisingly short supply so far this summer: liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Gulf-Based Natural Gas Industry Starts on Long Road Back
Four days after the rampaging Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Louisiana Coast the natural gas industry was beginning to get some idea of the extent of the damage to onshore facilities — some of which were still under water — and offshore rigs, platforms and pipelines, some damaged and some missing in action. But, Gulf-based companies had located most of their employees, Chevron was setting up a tent city for homeless workers, and production was starting to edge up.
Nymex Reports Record Exchange Trading Volume
Fueled by uncertainty and concern about energy supply following the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, energy trading volumes on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) continue to soar.
Transportation Notes
Almost certainly in response to the imminence of Tropical Storm (potentially Hurricane) Katrina bringing cooling rains to the southern half of its Florida market area, Florida Gas Transmission ended Thursday an Overage Alert Day notice that had been initiated Aug. 10 and had tolerances for negative daily imbalances varying between 5% and 25% during its two-week run.
Transportation Notes
Although Southern Natural Gas recently completed repairs to all of its facilities that were damaged last year by Hurricane Ivan (see Daily GPI, July 27), it noted Thursday that several receipt points sustained damage to third-party facilities that interconnect with its system and remain offline. It listed the points as Mississippi Canyon 20 and Main Pass 288, 296, 151 and 72. The return of those points to service is dependent upon third parties completing repairs to their facilities, Southern said. Shippers and poolers should contact the operators of the affected receipt points to determine the status of any such repairs. In addition, the Main Pass 293 receipt point has been abandoned due to Ivan damages, and Southern said it understands that repairs will not be made there.
Transportation Notes
Southern Natural Gas has restored service on all facilities that were forced to shut down because of damage last September from Hurricane Ivan. Over the course of Monday and Tuesday it announced the completion of repairs to the 12-inch Main Pass 144 lateral, the 18-inch Main Pass 306 lateral and the 24-inch Main Pass 289-298 line. It released the following receipt points from a force majeure and approved them for flow: Main Pass 133 C, Main Pass 123-Pogo, Main Pass 144 Chevron, Main Pass 306, Main Pass 288 Conoco, Main Pass 289-Main Pass 290 Shell and Main Pass 289 VKGC. An affiliated pipeline, Tennessee, still has about 14 MMcf/d in Ivan-related outages at two meters in the South Pass area, an El Paso Corp. spokesman said. Those meters are expected to be back online by the end of September.
August Futures Drop 6.6 Cents in Quiet Session
With Hurricane Emily looking like less and less of a threat for long-term Gulf of Mexico shut-ins, August natural gas futures traded within a thin 12-cent range Tuesday before settling at $7.586, down 6.6 cents on the day. While logging its second consecutive down session, the prompt month was unable to get below $7.50, which is acting as a support level.
Futures Fearless of Hurricane Emily, Drop 19.7 Cents
With Hurricane Emily’s path looking less threatening to a majority of Gulf of Mexico production, August natural gas futures on Monday probed the downside, trading as low as $7.560 before settling at $7.652, down 19.7 cents from Friday.