Memory

With the memory of the deadly explosion of the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) transmission line still fresh in peoples’ minds, two measures have been introduced in the Senate to improve the safety of pipelines.

With the memory of the deadly explosion of the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) transmission line still fresh in peoples’ minds, two measures have been introduced in the Senate to improve the safety of pipelines.

A frigid weekend in many sections was becoming a distant memory for many people who thought they had already seen too much winter already. Spot gas demand was dropping, and it was quite possible that more storage supplies were being substituted in its place, resulting in substantial declines in numbers across the board Tuesday.

With last winter now a memory, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Tuesday granted Intermountain Natural Gas Co. authority to interrupt customers’ use of gas to fire snow-melting equipment to clear driveways and rooftops in the midst of large wintertime accumulations of the white frosty stuff.

With former Hurricane Ida little more than a rainy memory and Gulf of Mexico (GOM) production recovering rapidly from the shut-ins that had opened the week, cash traders again focused on generally moderate weather forecasts for the intermediate term and the previous day’s futures weakness in continuing to push most points lower Wednesday.

With the December contract’s expiration rally on Monday already a mere memory, January natural gas futures on Tuesday plunged lower as traders weighed cold winter forecasts against the healthy natural gas storage situation. The newly minted front month put in a low on the day of $6.347 before closing the regular session at $6.386, down 44.1 cents from Monday’s close.

With last week’s blasts of frigid weather only a memory in many areas, cash prices were overwhelmingly lower at most points Tuesday. Many locations in the Northeast and Gulf Coast plummeted by triple-digit amounts. Only some points in the Rockies, Pacific Northwest and Western Canada, where below-normal temperatures will be concentrated this week, ran against the overall market grain with numbers that were flat to about a nickel higher.

Although the federal government’s slow response to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina will be forever seared into the memory of the nation, there were a few things that went right — including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s quick action to help rebuild the damaged energy infrastructure along the Gulf region, according to a comprehensive review of the government’s performance during the disaster last August.

In what was one of the quietest sessions in recent memory, the natural gas futures market chopped mostly sideways Tuesday as neither bull nor bear was able to influence a move in their favor. The March contract closed at $6.316, down a half cent for the session and near the middle of its $6.26-40 trading range on the day.