Least

For the time being at least, Marcellus Shale producers are paying the price for too much of a good thing. Concentrated development in the nation’s preeminent shale gas play has made for basis-inverting constraints on Tennessee Gas Pipeline. However, the industry has seen this sort of thing before (in the Rockies more than once, for instance), and the market will work it out, eventually, a Marcellus producer told NGI.

Bayer AG continues to discuss the lease or sale of acreage it owns in West Virginia for potential locations for ethane crackers, but at least one company has dropped out of those talks. “An affiliate of ours had been looking at a project in that area for an ethylene facility, but they are no longer doing that,” a spokesman for Houston-based PetroLogistics told NGI’s Shale Daily. In December, Bayer said a trio of sites it owns in industrial parks in New Martinsville, Institute and South Charleston, WV, totaling about 1,480 acres were available and would be ideal locations for thermal crackers (see Shale Daily, Dec. 23, 2010). Bayer wouldn’t discuss “speculation or market rumors” about possible deals, but has been in “serious discussions with several interested companies” that are looking at the West Virginia properties, Bayer spokesman Bryan Iams told NGI’s Shale Daily.

Southern California Gas is continuing through at least Wednesday a high-linepack OFO that was issued for Tuesday well after the close of Monday’s cash trading.

Nuclear power’s loss in Japan is rapidly turning out to spell gain for natural gas — and not least in Western Canada. Aspiring overseas exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) heard that encouraging word from international market participants recently in the Canadian industry capital of Calgary.

Nuclear power’s loss in Japan is rapidly turning out to spell gain for natural gas — and not least in Western Canada. Aspiring overseas exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) heard that encouraging word from international market participants Wednesday in the Canadian industry capital of Calgary.

In a belated notice early Friday Southern California Gas declared a high-linepack OFO for Friday that was extended into at least Saturday, with a 10% tolerance for positive imbalances staying in effect for both days.

Limited demand for natural gas could keep 9 Bcf/d of production from shale plays off the market over the next four years, a Bentek Energy LLC executivetold an audience in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

Pacific Gas and Electric kept a systemwide Stage 2 high-inventory OFO in place through at least Friday but loosened the tolerance for positive negative imbalances from 5% to 13%.

Spot prices saved their best for last — at least in the viewpoint of bullish traders — by making the strongest gains of last week virtually across the board on Friday. A large futures uptick a day earlier combined with increasing weather-based load in some areas to support the physical market.