natural gas

Gas for next-day delivery rose at nearly all market points in Tuesday’s trading with the Northeast posting double-digit gains, and more widespread gains of a few pennies were seen in the Mid-Atlantic, Marcellus, and Appalachia areas. Other Producing regions were also solidly in the black. Overall the market added an average of 6 cents to $3.79.

Strong gains swept through the physical market in Monday’s trading as a precipitous drop in next-day temperatures and a strong screen served notice to the bears that maybe their time is up.

In yet another sign of rising shale gas production and corresponding growth opportunities in the midstream sector, one of the nation’s largest utilities companies, NiSource Inc., announced a plan Sunday to spin-off its Columbia Pipeline Group (CPG) into a separate publicly traded company that would form a master limited partnership (MLP).

November natural gas is expected to open 4 cents higher Monday morning at $4.07 as traders discount moderate near-term weather and focus on the risks and rewards of a higher pricing environment. Overnight oil markets were mixed.

Encana Corp. on Monday placed another transformative piece into its puzzle to move from the natural gas world into oil, agreeing to pay a total of $7.1 billion for Permian Basin operator Athlon Energy Inc., giving it 140,000 net acres in the heart of the oily Midland sub-basin.

The majority of interest in Mexico’s energy sector reforms has focused on oil and gas exploration and production, but there will continue to be investment opportunities in the natural gas midstream sector as well, according to consultancy ICF International.

EnLink Midstream has agreed to pay $235 million to acquire 1,400 miles of Gulf Coast natural gas pipeline assets from Chevron Corp. affiliates, as well as ownership and management of the title tracking services offered at Henry Hub.

In yet another sign of rising shale gas production and corresponding growth opportunities in the midstream sector, one of the nation’s largest utilities companies, NiSource Inc., announced a plan Sunday to spin-off its Columbia Pipeline Group (CPG) into a separate publicly traded company that would form a master limited partnership (MLP).

Goodrich Petroleum Corp. said two wells it completed in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) in Mississippi had peak 24-hour average production that met at least 1,000 boe/d, and it is in various stages of completing three additional wells targeting the play.