Rapidly

With cooling load sinking rapidly, especially in the South, prices fell at nearly all points Wednesday. The previous day’s 2.9-cent decline by September futures as they entered their three-day countdown to expiration also contributed to cash softness.

CenterPoint Energy Field Services Inc. Monday announced new contracts with a Shell subsidiary and Encana Corp. that will grow its rapidly expanding Haynesville Shale gathering and treating network to 1.5 Bcf/d capacity and possibly eventually to 2.8 Bcf/d.

Although Northeast citygates were descending rapidly from the lofty heights they had reached in pre-weekend trading, most of the market continued to rise Monday as a widespread snowstorm continued to envelop the Midwest, Northeast and even the northern reaches of the South. The general firmness also was supported by the previous Friday’s 9.9-cent increase by March futures and the return of industrial load from its normal weekend hiatus.

Although Northeast citygates were descending rapidly from the lofty heights they had reached in pre-weekend trading, most of the market continued to rise Monday as a widespread snowstorm continued to envelop the Midwest, Northeast and even the northern reaches of the South. The general firmness also was supported by the previous Friday’s 9.9-cent increase by March futures and the return of industrial load from its normal weekend hiatus.

President Obama last week called on Congress to provide incentives for consumers who retrofit their homes to become more energy efficient, “which we know creates jobs, saves money for families and reduces the pollution that threatens our environment.” One proposal would expand “select” initiatives in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to promote energy efficiency and clean energy jobs that have been proven “to be particularly popular and effective.”

With former Hurricane Ida little more than a rainy memory and Gulf of Mexico (GOM) production recovering rapidly from the shut-ins that had opened the week, cash traders again focused on generally moderate weather forecasts for the intermediate term and the previous day’s futures weakness in continuing to push most points lower Wednesday.

Enbridge Inc. is holding a binding open season through Nov. 23 for its proposed LaCrosse Pipeline, which is intended to transport gas from Carthage, TX, to multiple delivery points in southeastern Louisiana. Construction of the 340-mile LaCrosse would occur in two phases. In Phase I Enbridge would construct and place in service the 42- and 36-inch diameter pipeline segments from the Enbridge Carthage Hub to Point Coupee Parish, LA, and a 24-inch diameter segment from Point Coupee Parish to Petrologistics LLC’s Choctaw Storage facility in Iberville Parish, LA. In Phase II Enbridge would construct and place in service the segment from Point Coupee Parish to an interconnection with Southern Natural Gas Co. in Washington Parish, LA. The planned in-service dates would be phased starting January 2012 through March 2013, Enbridge said. “We are in the process of negotiating third-party agreements that will bring total capacity commitments to exceed 1 Bcf/d and have additional indications of interest that could exceed 1.3 Bcf/d,” said Enbridge Energy Co. Inc. President Terrance L. McGill. “We have also secured engineering and environmental firms and survey permission from more than 80% of affected landowners. We are moving forward to initiate regulatory approvals including application to [the] U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and expect to place Phase 1 of the LaCrosse Pipeline in service during the first quarter of 2012.” Information is available at www.lacrosse.enbridgeus.com under “Shipper Documents.”

It wasn’t very surprising that the limited amount of early-spring cooling load across the southern U.S. and rapidly vanishing heating demand in the upper Northeast, which had produced small gains at most points Wednesday, were unable to sustain that firmness Thursday. Losses occurred at a large majority of points, although price movement continued to be minor as few declines exceeded a dime.

As natural gas production in the Lower 48 from developing shale plays continues to grow rapidly, so too do questions surrounding the environmental impacts and current regulatory structure of the development process, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In order to increase shale production, the government agency said protecting groundwater supplies is essential.