Movement on the oft-delayed Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP) could come some time this year, but the pipeline will take “at least 10 years” to build because of the engineering studies, permitting process, open season and actual construction it will require, ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva said Thursday.
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Action on Mackenzie Pipeline Could Come This Year, CEO Says
Movement on the oft-delayed Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP) could come some time this year, but the pipeline will take “at least 10 years” to build because of the engineering studies, permitting process, open season and actual construction it will require, ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva said Thursday.
Mixed Pricing Again, But Gains Are Dominant
In a way the Thursday cash market was much like Wednesday’s — mixed price movement with many points flat or close to it. The big difference was that whereas a majority of quotes were lower the day before, gains predominated Thursday. Cooling trends were due to continue Friday in the Northeast and Rockies (and to a small degree in the Midwest), thus boosting heating load, and Wednesday’s 15.3-cent increase by April futures provided extra support to the cash market Thursday.
Price, Demand Pressures Roil Northwest Gas Market
Economics in the western Canadian natural gas patch and the movement of increasingly more Rockies supplies east is being felt more in terms of wholesale price and supply pressures in the Pacific Northwest, according to Northwest Natural Gas Corp.’s CEO Mark Dodson. As a result, the need for siting a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the region is growing, he said during a 2007 earnings conference call Feb. 14.
Price, Demand Pressures Roil Northwest Gas Market
Economics in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and the movement of increasingly more Rockies supplies east is being felt more in terms of wholesale price and supply pressures in the Pacific Northwest, according to Northwest Natural Gas Corp.’s CEO Mark Dodson. As a result, the need for siting a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the region is growing, he said.
Mixed Price Moves Show Slight Negative Bias
As predicted, the latest spate of cold weather is proving to be short-lived, resulting in mixed price movement Thursday that was slightly weighted to the downside. Many points were less than a nickel up or down from flat.
Most Points Fall on Cold Moderation, Weekend Factor
Uniform price movement nearly returned to the spot market Thursday. Only flat quotes for NGPL Amarillo Mainline and Cheyenne Hub kept all points from recording declines. Modest warming trends in the South and Northeast combined with the fact that Thursday’s trading covered the weekend through Monday — with the accompanying decline of industrial load — to induce the overall softness.
Mixed Pricing Biased to Upside; NYC Hits $14
Gains handily outweighed losses in mixed price movement Monday while an ice storm continued to rage through the central U.S. Transco’s Zone 6-New York City pool and Iroquois Zone 2 spiked by about $1.50 to as high as $14.00 and $13.75, respectively, as very cold and weather was expected to remain in place Tuesday across the northern half of the U.S. and Canada.
Softness Likely Following Mixed Price Moves
The cash market was approximately evenly mixed in up and down movement Wednesday as weather vagaries and the previous day’s screen downturn tugged at prices in varying ways. In general the West and Midcontinent were softer, while the Gulf Coast, Midwest and Northeast were mixed but leaning mostly to the upside.
Forecast, Erroneous Storage Coverage Moves Futures Higher Wednesday
While the East region withdrew 11 Bcf from natural gas storage for the week ended Nov. 16, the Producing and West regions combined to make the country’s net movement for the week a 4 Bcf injection, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Wednesday report. Despite the bearish number, it appeared that a major media storage reporting error, combined with a new forecast for near-term cold in the Midwest, pushed December natural gas futures to a high of $7.620 before the contract closed at $7.550, up 7.3 cents from Tuesday’s close.