Lower

U.S. households should expect lower heating bills this winter compared to last, thanks in large part to less severe temperatures, but also due to lower natural gas spot prices and significantly higher winter gas production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Henry Hub natural gas prices are expected to average $4.46/MMBtu this year and $3.87/MMBtu next year, thanks in large part to a continuing production surge, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Tuesday.

Natural gas production growth and mild weather are allowing storage injections to continue on pace for a record refill of 2.6 Tcf by the end of October, according to the Energy Information Administration, which significantly lowered its gas price outlooks for both 2014 and 2015.

August natural gas is expected to open 5 cents lower Tuesday morning at $3.80 as traders focus on downside trading objectives, another 10 cents lower than Monday’s weak settlement. Overnight oil markets rose.

August natural gas is expected to open 8 cents lower Monday morning at $3.87 as traders factor in forecasts of still more cooling with risks to the forecast cooler still. Overnight petroleum markets rose.

Following a slow start in April, the 2014 natural gas injection season grew stronger in May and June, with net injections of 100 Bcf or greater for eight straight weeks, but working stocks at the end of October will reach only an estimated 3.43 Tcf, 380 Bcf lower than at the same time last year, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

BP plc is taking a $521 million impairment on its Utica Shale acreage in Ohio and will not proceed with development in the play, top management said Tuesday.

Extreme winter weather during the first three months of this year helped BP plc grab the upside in domestic natural gas prices, which offset lower returns elsewhere in the group.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday denied two leading Republican state lawmakers a chance to argue as interested parties in favor of the General Assembly’s role in passing comprehensive oil and gas legislation into law in 2012.