natural gas prices

Gas for weekend and Monday delivery retreated on Friday, as steady weather conditions convinced traders that committing to three-day deals at elevated prices was less attractive than spot purchases using convenient electronic communications.

Tulsa-based Triple Crown Energy LLC said Wednesday it has completed two joint ventures (JV) for acreage in Kansas with U.S. Energy Development Corp. and Millennial Energy Partners LLC, with plans to drill up to 24 wells over the next year.

Market points responded smartly to the arrival of Polar Vortex-driven cold for the week ended Nov. 14. The NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average added to the previous week’s 27-cent gain with an additional 55 cents to $4.18. Not one single market point posted a loss, although one location, PG&E Citygates came in unchanged at $4.49. Most points added between 30 to 50 cents, but a few New England locations were up by close to $2.

Calgary’s PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. agreed Thursday to buy another royalty-fee specialist, Range Royalty LP, which would expand its portfolio by 3.5 million acres and add 3,000 boe/d in production.

Martin Houston, former COO of BG Group plc, has been named chairman — TPH International, investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH) said. Houston, 56, will work with TPH’s Calgary and London offices to expand the firm’s cross-border presence in those markets, as well as provide expertise in the global gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets. Houston joined BG Group in the early 1980s and was serving on its board of directors when he retired as COO in early 2014. Houston was a key architect of BG Group’s LNG business. He also is the founding member of recently formed Parallax Energy (see Daily GPI,Oct. 24).

Natural gas futures managed to make it into positive territory following the release of government storage figures somewhat greater than what the market was anticipating.

The proposed $6.8 billion merger of Exelon Corp. and Pepco Holdings Inc. (PHI) was given a thumbs-up by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. FERC authorized the proposed merger and disposition of assets under section 203 of the Federal Power Act as consistent with the public interest. The item was on the Commission’s consent agenda for its Thursday meeting. The merger, which would create the top Mid-Atlantic electric and gas utility with close to 10 million customers, will combine Exelon’s three electric and gas utilities — Chicago’s Commonwealth Edison Co., Baltimore’s BGE and Philadelphia’s PECO — and PHI’s three electric and gas utilities — New Jersey’s Atlantic City Electric, Delaware’s Delmarva Power and Washington, DC and Maryland’s Pepco (see Daily GPI,April 30). The buyout is the first major transaction for Exelon since completing an $8 billion merger in 2012 with Constellation Energy (see Daily GPI, May 24, 2011). The merger is expected to close in mid-2015.

Baker Hughes Inc. affirmed it is in preliminary discussions with Halliburton Co. regarding a potential merger, a blockbuster prospect for North America’s onshore and offshore operators — and for Houston as well, where the oilfield giants are headquartered.

Continuing supply growth, unmatched in the next couple of years by significant demand increases, has led leading Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH) to cut its long term price forecast by 50 cents to $4.00/Mcf.