Pushed

The Pacific Northwest’s continued below-freezing temperatures pushed Bellevue, WA-based Puget Sound Energy (PSE) to another record natural gas sendout Friday, surpassing one the utility set earlier in the week. PSE said natural gas demand hit 780,000 MMBtu on Friday, compared to 755,881 MMBtu last Tuesday.

The debate over whether Tuesday’s $5.458 low for the move was in fact the bottom of the bearish trend continued to rage Wednesday as January natural gas futures pushed to a session high of $5.792 in morning trade but failed to hold on to a majority of the gains as a wave of selling arrived in the afternoon. The prompt-month contract ended up closing the day’s regular session at $5.686, up 10.7 cents from Tuesday’s close.

All but eclipsed by yet another day of wild swings on Wall Street, energy futures still were able to make a splash on Friday as crude futures pushed below $80/bbl for the first time in exactly one year and natural gas futures continued to nip at their 13-month low. November crude ended up closing $8.89 lower at $77.70/bbl while November natural gas finished at $6.535, down 29 cents on the day and 82.3 cents lower than the previous week’s finish.

Strong natural gas prices and increased gas output pushed EnCana Corp.’s quarterly results ahead of expectations. Key resource plays across North America, including triple-digit gains from its Deep Bossier gas play in East Texas, lifted total output by 17%.

Strong natural gas prices and increased gas output pushed EnCana Corp.’s quarterly results ahead of expectations. Key resource plays across North America, including triple-digit gains from its Deep Bossier gas play in East Texas, lifted total output by 17%.

Marginalizing the bearish damage done on Thursday, traders — after bouncing off of support just below $11.500 in the overnight session — pushed natural gas futures 22.9 cents higher on Friday to close at $11.703. The week, which saw June futures expire at $11.916 on Wednesday, also saw the July contract close 27.8 cents lower than the previous Friday’s finish.

Natural gas bulls kept the heat on futures prices on Friday as the June contract pushed higher ahead of the holiday weekend to close at $11.857, up 16 cents from Thursday’s finish and 76.3 cents higher than the previous week’s close. With an $11.864 high on the day, the prompt-month contract set a new high mark for the up move that began back in August 2007.

San Diego, CA-based Sempra Energy has pushed back indefinitely opening its 17 Bcf Liberty Gas Storage project in Louisiana that is tied to its liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in the final months of construction at Cameron, LA, on the Gulf of Mexico. Other than oblique references to construction issues, Sempra offered no details, nor a new target date, for the redeveloped underground salt dome cavern.

Attempting to capture Tuesday’s downward momentum, natural gas futures traders on Wednesday pushed the June contract to a low of $10.665 before an afternoon bounce finished the regular session at virtually unchanged from Tuesday’s close. The prompt-month contract closed at $10.843, up one-tenth of a penny from the previous day.