Loss

End-of-January prices reacted to moderating weather trends (either already under way or impending), Thursday’s screen loss of a dime, and lower weekend industrial load by dropping across the board Friday. The Northeast again was far out in front in leading the charge downward with multi-dollar plunges that had citygates returning to something more closely resembling “normal” levels.

Houston-based independent Marathon Oil Corp. estimates that oil and natural gas production for the third quarter will total approximately 304,000 boe/d, down from an earlier estimate of 337,000 boe/d because of the impact of hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) the company said. It also blamed a “later than anticipated” complete ramp-up of liquids production in Equatorial Guinea and other “unplanned downtime” in the quarter.

Regrouping after the 17.7-cent loss on Monday, August natural gas futures traded within the $5.965-6.025 range before settling at $5.989 Tuesday, up 3.2 cents in the uneventful session. As the soon-to-be prompt month, September futures climbed 2.6 cents to close at $6.022.

Despite closing almost 2 cents up on the day, some market-watchers considered Tuesday a loss for August natural gas futures as morning trading levels as high as $5.96 could not be sustained. The prompt month tapped out at $5.805 on the downside in afternoon trading before settling at $5.837, up 1.9 cents on the day.

Shrugging off a 9.1-cent loss Thursday related to profit-taking, the June natural gas futures contract climbed right back into things Friday, closing up 7.5 cents on the day to settle at $6.294. Friday capped a wild week that saw a 36.9-cent breakout gain on Monday, vaulting the prompt month well over the psychological $6 mark.

Entering a period of milder weather and spurred by the previous day’s screen loss of nearly 22 cents, prices kept falling across the board Wednesday. However, the decline pace slowed considerably. Wednesday’s drops ranged as high as about 30 cents in the Northeast, but were in single digits at a slight majority of points.

In compliance with a Nov. 7 order, Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline is seeking to replace its existing two-part firm with one-part volumetric service and institute a new interruptible service on its New England Manchester Street and Brayton Point pipe facilities in an attempt to recoup lost revenues stemming from the bankruptcy of a key customer, USGen New England Inc.

In compliance with a Nov. 7 order, Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline is seeking to replace its existing two-part firm with one-part volumetric service and institute a new interruptible service on its Boston-area Manchester Street and Brayton Point pipe facilities in an attempt to recoup lost revenues stemming from the bankruptcy of the parent company of a key customer, USGen New England Inc.

As anticipated, Monday’s near-quarter fall in natural gas futures was felt in Tuesday’s cash market, where declines ranged from as little as 3 cents to about 20 cents at most points but were as high as around half a dollar or more at a few Rockies/Pacific Northwest points. Many of the smallest drops of less than a dime were clustered in the Northeast, and Algonquin citygates were essentially flat.