Lifted

Natural gas prices this year and next will be slightly higher than previously forecast, lifted in large part by an expected increase in demand from the industrial sector, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

Natural gas prices this year and next will be slightly higher than previously forecast, lifted in large part by an expected increase in demand from the industrial sector, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Tuesday.

Natural gas prices this year and next will be slightly higher than previously forecast, lifted in large part by an expected increase in demand from the industrial sector, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Tuesday.

Lifted by prices and successful well tests from an extension of the emerging Mississippian Lime play, oil production in Kansas rose last year, according to new estimates by the Kansas Geological Survey at the University of Kansas. Natural gas production in 2011, however, declined by more than 6%.

Cash market prices overall tumbled just above 8 cents Wednesday as traders noted a market lacking bids. An outage lifted Florida Gas Transmission into the plus column, but Gulf, West Coast, and Rockies points all slid close to a dime.

Apache Corp. saw its net income jump 75% in 4Q2011 from a year earlier, lifted by higher output and strong crude prices. The producer plans to drill up to 30% more wells this year than in 2011, when it drilled 1,100 gross wells; more than half are to be in the Permian and Anadarko basins. In 4Q2011 total gas output rose 3.2%; oil output climbed 4.3%. North American gas volumes increased to 1.494 Bcf/d in 4Q2011 from 1.432 Bcf/d in 4Q2010, and from 1.478 Bcf/d in 3Q2011. Net profits totaled $1.17 billion ($2.98/share) in 4Q2011, compared with $670 million ($1.77) in 4Q2010. Revenue rose 25% to $4.3 billion.

Devon Energy Corp., which continues to be weighted to natural gas, said its embrace of North American liquids and oil lifted production to record numbers in the final three months of 2011.

Northern Natural Gas allowed a System Overrun Limitation for all zones to expire Saturday.

Only a day after issuing them, Tennessee lifted two meter-specific Balancing Alert OFOs. The pipeline also said it continues investigation of a November rupture near Main Line Valve (MLV) 205-4 in Morgan County, OH, about four miles southeast of the city of Glouster (see Daily GPI, Nov. 21, 2011). Currently line 4 is isolated and Tennessee is maintaining a reduced pressure from Station 200 in Greenup, KY, to Station 219 in Mercer, PA. The Rockies Express (REX) interconnect flows into Line 4 between MLVs 208 and 209. To further evaluate the section between the valves, Tennessee was required to reduce the pressure there. Thus it was not accepting any nomination increases at the REX meter Tuesday and effective Wednesday until further notice will not accept any nominations at all from the REX meter.