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A sales and purchase agreement struck Thursday among Qatargas, Shell and PetroChina will lead to the long-term supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar to the Chinese market — and that much less available for import to the United States.

Nicor Inc.’s CEO Friday said the company’s natural gas utility subsidiary is “simply not earning our allowed rate of return,” which likely will lead to a rate hike request with Illinois officials by mid-year.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Friday released a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) that eventually may lead to natural gas drilling in the Baca National Wildlife Refuge in the San Luis Valley, which is located in Saguache County, CO.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Friday released a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) that eventually may lead to natural gas drilling in the Baca National Wildlife Refuge in the San Luis Valley, which is located in Saguache County, CO.

Strong domestic production and robust summertime liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports should lead to another year of record storage levels in 2008, according to Raymond James & Associates Inc. The firm has cut its 2008 full-year price forecast by 50 cents to $6.50/Mcf, the lowest since 2004. The analysts note that their forecast for 2008 is more than 15% lower than the Bloomberg estimate and more than 17% below the Nymex futures strip.

Strong domestic production and robust summertime liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports should lead to another year of record storage levels in 2008, according to Raymond James & Associates Inc. The firm has cut its 2008 full-year price forecast by 50 cents to $6.50/Mcf, the lowest since 2004. The analysts note that their forecast for 2008 is more than 15% lower than the Bloomberg estimate and more than 17% below the Nymex futures strip.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Thursday morning that the record-breaking natural gas storage level this year padded its lead during the week ended Nov. 2 with an injection of 36 Bcf. Despite the fact that storage is widely acknowledged as “full,” natural gas futures traders had already incorporated that fact weeks ago. As a result, the December contract was choppy in morning trade before settling at $7.713, up 8.9 cents.

Natural gas inventories were up last year on warm winter temperatures and a modest increase in domestic marketed production, which lead to a decline in the average wellhead gas price, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) “Natural Gas Annual 2006,” which was released last week.

Natural gas inventories were up last year on warm winter temperatures and a modest increase in domestic marketed production, which lead to a decline in the average wellhead gas price, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) “Natural Gas Annual 2006.”