Points

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. got the go-ahead from FERC Thursday to start up facilities that will enable it to provide interim firm transportation service to three shippers on its Northeast Supply Diversification (NSD) Project beginning Oct. 1, one month ahead of the in-service date for the entire project.

Cash quotes overall on average were 7 cents higher Thursday, paced by double-digit, weather-driven gains at Northeast points. Eastern, Midcontinent and Rockies prices all gained as well.

First quarter results of Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. improved over the year-ago period, thanks mainly to expansion of the company’s production base. Oil and gas production volumes both set company records, although low gas prices weighed on the Houston-based producer.

Physical natural gas prices on average were unchanged Tuesday with some Northeast points showing strength along with the Rocky Mountains. Following Monday’s strength, futures prices reverted to the recent trend of probing lower as market technicians fear the worst and point to the likelihood of prices as much as a dollar lower by August. At the close of futures trading, May had retrenched 6.5 cents to $1.951 and June had fallen 6 cents to $2.048. May crude oil added $1.27 to $104.20/bbl.

The House Agriculture Committee Wednesday approved by voice vote six bills that would slightly alter and clarify some controversial points in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Virtually all points fell Thursday as they succumbed to a triple whammy of bearish threats: further increases in storage inventories, futures weakness and mild weather for mid-winter that refuses to go away and allow normal cold conditions to take hold.

Prices fell at all but two points Tuesday in the start of the third holiday-shortened trading period in less than a month. The softness appeared to defy cooling trends forecast for Wednesday in the Midwest and South while the Northeast gave up Friday’s big gains even with lows below freezing remaining in the next-day forecast.

It wasn’t surprising to see a majority of points softening again Friday as weather continued to be milder than in most winters and the weekend was taking a bite out of industrial demand. What may have been a bit surprising to some was that quite a few locations were flat or managed to rack up small gains to keep mixed price movement in play.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC), which oversees game and wildlife in the state, has called on FERC to revoke eminent domain authority for Central New York Oil & Gas Co. LLC (CNYOG) to seize state land to build the MARC I Hub Line project in northeastern Pennsylvania.