The weekend’s double-digit losses at nearly all points were replaced by mostly single-digit declines in most of the cash market Monday, and several scattered locations were flat to mostly a little higher. The restoration of industrial demand from its usual weekend drop likely helped account for some of the diminished softness, but weather-based demand remained generally light, Atlantic tropical activity was remote, and the 6.9-cent futures fall on Friday was a third bearish factor.
Losses
Articles from Losses
EIA: Lower 48 Production Up Slightly in June
U.S. Lower 48 gross natural gas production in June increased to 69.47 Bcf/d, up 0.1% compared with 69.39 Bcf/d in May, despite losses in the federal offshore Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) last week. Other EIA data released last week indicated that increased drilling in the Marcellus Shale has been a boost for gas production in the northeastern United States and both peak working capacity of underground storage and working design capacity increased about 1% between April 2010 and April 2011.
EIA: Lower 48 Production Up Slightly in June
U.S. Lower 48 gross natural gas production in June increased to 69.47 Bcf/d, up 01.% compared with 69.39 Bcf/d in May, despite losses in the federal offshore Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) Tuesday.
Near-Flat Pricing Represents Slight Strength
Although the cash market showed a few signs of vitality in moving to near-flat numbers Tuesday following the previous day’s losses at nearly all points, there was little in the near-term outlook to suggest any chances of a substantive rally anytime soon.
Mixed Pricing Sees Little Change from Flat
Most points remained on the slightly firmer side in ranging from flat to about a nickel higher. Losses of up to nearly a dime were most prevalent at Northeast citygates.
Encana Applies Hi-Tech to Costs, Raises Profit, Output
Encana Corp., Canada’s largest natural gas producer, rebounded in the second quarter from earnings losses in the year-ago period and grew its unconventional natural gas and liquids production by 4%.
Prices End Week Mixed and Mostly Near Flat
Price movement was approximately evenly mixed between small gains and small losses of up to nearly a dime either way. Flat quotes were common, and none of the changes up or down reached double digits. The increases tended to be concentrated in the Midcontinent and Rockies.
Devon Discloses Leasehold in Tuscaloosa Shale
Devon Energy Corp., which took the prospective Barnett Shale and turned it into one for the ages, disclosed Wednesday that it has leased 250,000 net acres in the emerging Tuscaloosa Marine Shale of southwestern Mississippi/central Louisiana for a cost of around $180/acre.
Heating Load Spurs Further Price Gains
Only a couple of points saw losses Tuesday as the cash market continued a broad overall advance. Cold to chilly forecasts for Wednesday — with freezing lows due in some locations — stretched from Western Canada and much of the western U.S. through the Plains and Midwest into the Northeast. Cash got an extra boost from Monday’s May futures increase of 6.7 cents, and there likely was a small amount of run-up in cooling load in the South, where highs from the mid 70s to mid 80s were predicted for much of the region.
Mixed Prices Mostly Near Flat; Northeast Still Plunging
Losses constituted a moderate majority in a mixed market Thursday as most points were less than a nickel up or down from unchanged. Several of the Northeast citygates that had spiked so hugely Tuesday continued multi-dollar slides that brought them back to the general vicinity of their pre-holiday price levels.