natural gas prices

Physical natural gas for delivery Tuesday vaulted higher Monday, fueled in large part by a number of capacity constrained points in New England. At the close of futures trading February had advanced 5.9 cents to $4.427 and March was higher by 4.6 cents to $4.382. February crude oil fell $1.03 to $99.29/bbl.

Howard Energy Partners has begun construction on two liquids-handling facilities to serve South Texas production from the Eagle Ford Shale and provide expanded market access for multiple products.

Goodrich Petroleum Corp. said it encountered a problem during hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations at a well in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) in Mississippi, but it is moving forward with two additional wells targeting the play.

As a clearer picture emerges from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent ruling that struck down key provisions of the state’s most comprehensive oil and gas legislation, the court’s decision is likely to have repercussions for a decade or more, sources say, with the impact extending across the spectrum and touching more than just the pace of the industry’s operations in the Marcellus Shale.

Deliveries of weekend and Monday gas were unchanged on average in Friday’s trading, with eastern and Northeast weakness for the most part offset by gains in the Midwest. At the close, January had fallen 2.6 cents to $4.407 and February was down 10.8 cents tgo $4.368. February crude oil added 77 cents, to $100.32/bbl, the first time oil has traded above $100 in two months.

At first glance weekly gas prices were kind to neither the bulls nor the bears. For the week ended Dec. 27 the NGI National Weekly Spot Gas Average fell by just a penny to $4.47, but major swings were recorded throughout the country. Chicago Citygate bulls enjoyed the highest NGI weekly price in 2 1/2 years at $4.81. Of the actively traded points the Northeast was home to market points showing the greatest gains as wellas losses. In New England Iroquois Zone 1 recorded the largest advance rising 81 cents to $5.77, and at the other end of the spectrum deliveries to Algonquin Citygates tumbled $4.41 to $9.75.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.CEO and Vice Chairman Richard Adkerson, 66, has been awarded shares currently valued at about $36 million as compensation for canceling severance pay rights, part of a makeover in executive compensation at the company. Adkerson, CEO of the Phoenix operator since late 2003, signed an employment contract in 2008 that would have given him the right to payments of about $49 million for being fired or $60.8 million following a change of control. In June, Freeport completed a $9 billion cash/stock purchase of Plains Exploration & Production Co. and McMoRan Exploration Co. (see Daily GPI, June 4; Dec. 6, 2012). Plains chief Jim Flores was named vice chairman, part of an “office of the chairman” to include Adkerson and Chairman Jim Bob Moffett. Freeport has been revising its compensation policies following criticism by shareholders, which twice have rejected executive pay practices on nonbinding votes. The “say on pay” vote was rejected by 71% this year.

Physical gas for Friday delivery slipped a few cents Thursday as outsized gains at New England points could not offset broader losses in the Midwest, Gulf Coast and California.

Axiall Corp. has chosen Louisiana as the site for a potential world-scale ethane cracker that would be built by the company and a joint venture partner in conjunction with a related ethylene derivatives plant.