natural gas

In just two days of August trading last week, spot gas prices still found a way to lose ground. The NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average dropped 13 cents to $3.59 for the Thursday-Friday time slot. Gains were limited to a few points in the Rockies, Arizona, and California, but otherwise the red ink was widespread.

Jodi Gidley, president of Virginia Natural Gas (VNG), a subsidiary of AGL Resources, died last week after suffering injuries in a jet ski fire about two weeks prior, according to the Virginian-Pilot. The newspaper said police and fire officials are investigating the cause of the accident, which occurred July 18 near the Lynnhaven River in Virginia Beach, VA. “A veteran of nearly 30 years with our company, Jodi was a respected leader in the company and in her community,” AGL Vice President Hank Linginfelter told the newspaper. “She will be deeply missed.” Gidley, 49, became president of VNG in 2007. She was also a senior vice president of AGL and president of two other subsidiaries, Elizabethtown Gas and Elkton Gas.

It was a grand and glorious week of trading if you were a bidweek buyer on any of the market points followed by NGI.

Youngstown activist group FrackFree Mahoning Valley has once again filed signatures to put a referendum on the November ballot asking voters to amend the city’s charter and ban horizontal hydraulic fracturing and related activities within its boundaries. In May, voters rejected for the third time in a year the same question by a 54-46% margin (3,674 to 3,100 votes) (see Shale Daily,May 7). At the time, the group said it would continue to push for the charter amendment until a ban is passed.

The White House has named Cheryl A. LaFleur to serve as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a post that became effective Wednesday (July 30). She has served as acting chairman since November (see Daily GPI,Nov. 21, 2013). Norman C. Bay also was designated by President Obama to take over as chairman on April 15, 2015. The Senate in July voted 90-7 in favor of LaFleur’s appointment, shortly after Bay was appointed to the Commission (see Daily GPI,July 15).

A California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) spokesperson said Thursday that it will be another two months before proposed decisions are completed by the administrative law judges (ALJ) overseeing the multiple-case penalty phase of proceedings on Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s (PG&E) 2010 natural gas transmission pipeline rupture that killed eight in a residential section of San Bruno, CA. A CPUC safety staff proposal has called for a $2.25 billion penalty (see Daily GPI,May 7, 2013), something the combination utility says is excessive (see Daily GPI,Aug. 23, 2013). Other parties are seeking much more. Noting that the proposed ALJ decisions are coming within the next 60 days, the CPUC spokesperson said that once the decisions are submitted, there is a 30-day period in which parties may appeal. After any appeals are resolved, the proposals are to go to the five-member CPUC for a final decision.

Ben W. Lupo, the former owner of Ohio-based D&L Energy Inc. and Hardrock Excavating LLC faces the maximum punishment for directing an employee to dump thousands of gallons of oilfield waste down a storm drain in Youngstown, OH that empties into a river. An investigation in 2013 led to Lupo, 64, being charged with violating the Clean Water Act (see Shale Daily,Feb. 19, 2013). He pleaded guilty in March (see Shale Daily,March 25). Prosecutors have recommended a three-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for Tuesday (Aug. 5) at a U.S. District Court in Cleveland.

Spot gas for weekend and Monday delivery was mixed in Friday’s trading. Gains at Gulf Coast points contrasted with a weak Northeast and a mixed Great Lakes, Midcontinent, Rockies and California.

As had been expected, FERC late Wednesday authorized Freeport LNG Development LP to site, construct, and operate facilities to liquefy and export domestic natural gas from its existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal near Freeport, TX.