Pricing

Physical natural gas prices Tuesday for delivery Wednesday experienced broad and pervasive selling as a weak screen, expectations of sizeable storage builds, and no tropical activity pulled the plug on pricing. Overall, prices settled on average 8 cents lower, and virtually no points made it to the positive side of the trading ledger. At the close of futures trading, October had fallen 11 cents to $3.492 and November was down by 11.8 cents to $3.559. November crude oil fell 46 cents to $103.13/bbl.

While acknowledging that rail shipments are a vital part of the burgeoning Bakken Shale play, North Dakota energy officials on Monday refused to speculate on the eventual impact of the oil rail car derailment and fire in Quebec, Canada, on their state’s soaring production (see Shale Daily, July 16).

U.S. natural gas prices may never return to the double digits of yesteryear, but there are “a lot of reasons” to see some upside in pricing going forward, Apache Corp. CEO G. Steven Farris said last week at Sanford Bernstein’s 29th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference 2013.

U.S. natural gas prices may never return to the double digits of yesteryear, but there are “a lot of reasons” to see some upside in pricing going forward, Apache Corp. CEO G. Steven Farris said Wednesday at Sanford Bernstein’s 29th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference 2013.

No place in the entire world has better dry or wet gas potential than the Marcellus Shale, now “four years into a 50-year play,” but ensuring that there’s enough infrastructure for adequate takeaway will take some time, a top Williams executive said last week.

Natural gas pricing Tuesday was widely varied with the overall market showing an average loss of a dime. Once the high-flying New England pipelines such as Algonquin, Tennessee and Iroquois are factored out, however, the market actually showed a gain of 13 cents.

Cash prices overall rose more than a nickel on average Monday led by Northeast and Eastern points, but pricing points in the Midwest were almost entirely in the red — from a couple of pennies to more than a dime. At the close of trading January futures had fallen 9.1 cents to $3.46 and February also had dropped 9.1 cents to $3.487. January crude oil was down 37 cents to $85.56/bbl.

The state of Alaska is seeking pricing protections for natural gas consumers in the Southcentral region through a consent decree filed to “resolve competitive concerns” with Hilcorp Alaska LLC’s acquisition of Cook Inlet assets from Marathon Oil Co.

The state of Alaska is seeking pricing protections for natural gas consumers in the Southcentral region through a consent decree filed to “resolve competitive concerns” with Hilcorp Alaska LLC’s acquisition of Cook Inlet assets from Marathon Oil Co.