Incentive

January natural gas futures posted a double-digit loss Monday as traders acknowledged a low volatility price environment and little incentive for end-users to step up to the plate and lock in prices. At the close January was down 12.3 cents to $3.461 and February also had shed 12.3 cents to $3.490.

A large coalition of public health and environmental groups has launched a campaign to regulate chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and other exploration and production (E&P) processes at the source, petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require disclosure from chemical manufacturers and processors.

It wasn’t the overload of Marcellus Shale supplies, but poor planning by Columbia Gas Transmission LLC that “may have created or contributed” to the storage constraints on its system in northern Ohio, Indicated Shippers said in a protest to the pipeline request for a tariff increase.

Lone Star NGL LLC — a venture of Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) and Regency Energy Partners LP — plans to construct a 530-mile natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline from Winkler County in West Texas to the Jackson County processing plant in Jackson County, TX.

With the incentive of job creation and the caveat of environmental protection, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper strongly endorsed the need for development of natural gas resources in his state and nationwide as part of his remarks to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Bipartisan Governors Summit Monday in Washington, DC. Hickenlooper co-chaired the event.

December natural gas futures staged a stout advance as near-term weather expectations provided a healthy incentive for buyers. The National Weather Service in its six- to 10-day forecast showed a broad stretch of the country from Louisiana to Vermont and as far west as Kentucky as having to endure below-normal temperatures. From Chicago to Dallas all the way to the West Coast was forecast to be above normal. December futures rose 22.1 cents to $6.533, and January rose 17.3 cents to $6.641. December crude oil slipped $2.09 to $54.95.

Duncan Energy Partners LP, a master limited partnership (MLP) created by a subsidiary of Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners LP, on Thursday filed a Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $313.95 million for an initial public offering (IPO). The IPO, expected to spin off in early 2007, initially will own some of Enterprise’s Gulf Coast midstream assets, including its Mont Belvieu facilities.

With recent cases involving major utilities as an incentive, California’s Senate passed a bill (28-8) to restrict the use of confidential information in the California Public Utilities Commission.

With recent cases involving major utilities as an incentive, California’s Senate passed a bill (28-8) to restrict the use of confidential information in the California Public Utilities Commission.