Mostly

Physical natural gas prices Friday were mostly flat, although a few Northeast points showed constraint-related gains. Prices at most points eased, and without the gains posted on Northeast pipes, the overall market was down on average by about 2 cents. Texas points were mixed and the West Coast was generally weaker. Futures fared much worse. At the close of trading August was down 16.9 cents to $2.776 and September was off 16.4 cents to $2.786. August crude oil imploded $2.77 to $84.45/bbl.

Likely keying off the natural gas screen’s failure to break above $3 on Wednesday, cash points across the country came off mostly by a nickel to a dime on Thursday except for a few spots in the Northeast, which chose their own path.Natural gas futures bulls were dealt a blow Thursday morning after it was reported that a higher-than-expected 57 Bcf storage injection was recorded for the week ending June. 22. While the build was much smaller than historical comparisons, it was still bearish enough when compared to industry expectations to push futures lower on Thursday. The August contract closed the regular session at $2.722, down 7.6 cents.

Physical gas for weekend and Monday delivery was mostly flat in Friday’s trading with modest gains posted in the Rockies and Midcontinent. However, the real story could be found in the northeast, where large drops were recoreded for a second straight trading day.

“The truth is that Gasland is mostly hot air,” the narrator of Truthland says in the trailer for the new film.

Cash market natural gas prices were mostly flat Tuesday with strength at a few Northeast locations offsetting softer California and Texas markets. California consumers were the beneficiaries of the return to service of a major pipeline from the Rockies, and weather forecasts for Wednesday called for 60s in the Northeast and Midwest, and 80s in the South and West. At the close of futures trading the June contract had risen 6.9 cents to $2.500 and July had added 6.3 cents to $2.568. June crude oil slipped 80 cents to $93.98/bbl.

Because of the timing of the decrease in natural gas prices, and a “timely hedge book,” exploration and production (E&P) companies mostly have “coasted” through 1Q2012’s borrowing base season, but there may come a point when commercial banks may not continue to use a lending gas price deck well above strip prices, the energy team at Raymond James & Associates Inc. said last week.

Because of the timing of the decrease in natural gas prices, and a “timely hedge book,” exploration and production (E&P) companies mostly have “coasted” through 1Q2012’s borrowing base season, according to energy analysts with Raymond James & Associates Inc. However, commercial banks may not continue to use a lending gas price deck well above strip prices, wrote Kevin Smith, John Freeman and Justin Albert in a note to clients.

Seventeen separate water withdrawals already approved in Pennsylvania by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) — mostly for natural gas operators — have been temporarily suspended because localized stream flow levels have fallen throughout the basin because of drought conditions, officials said.

Seventeen separate water withdrawals already approved in Pennsylvania by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) — mostly for natural gas operators — have been temporarily suspended because of localized stream flow levels that have fallen throughout the basin on drought conditions, officials said.