Relatively

Not even forecasts of next-day weather staying relatively moderate, combined with Monday’s drop of 5.1 cents by February futures, were able to knock continued general firmness out of the cash market Tuesday. Somehow the widely acknowledged fact of abundant storage remaining available is having little impact on continued purchases of spot gas.

Two environmental groups in California have sued the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to prevent the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Monterey Shale play in north-central parts of the state.

Changing water temperatures in both the South Pacific and North Atlantic oceans could produce a relatively tame 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, according to forecasters at Andover, MA-based WSI. Corp.

December weather has been relatively mild so far, but the nation’s northern tier can expect temperatures to average colder than normal until at least early spring, according to forecasters at Andover, MA-based Weather Services International (WSI).

U.S. shale natural gas resources have the potential to ignite a domestic manufacturing “renaissance” that could create one million jobs and billions in energy cost savings, according to a new report by industry consultant PwC US.

Relatively cool weather in most of North America has yet to translate into substantive heating load increases; a tropical storm threat remains nonexistent and likely to stay that way through the final two months of the 2011 Atlantic season; and a screen drop of 8.1 cents Friday kept downward pressure on the cash market. The return of industrial load from its weekend decline provided weak market support.

Florida has relatively high electric costs because the state’s utilities have a fuel mix more dependent on natural gas than neighboring states, which rely more on coal and nuclear energy, according to a study released by the Florida Public Service Commission (PUC). Power generated using natural gas costs about 10 cents/kWh, that generated with coal costs about 3 cents/kWh, and nuclear power “has minimal fuel costs but requires a large capital investment,” the PUC said. Residential customers in the state are believed to pay 10-20% more for electricity than customers in other Southeast states. The study was conducted by the Public Utility Research Center at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business.

Investors have traditionally viewed long-haul natural gas pipelines as a relatively safe haven from risk; however, shifting trends in gas flows, “a much more proactive FERC” and the potential for higher maintenance expenses are changing that, according to an analysis by U.S. Capital Advisors.

A UK-based exploration company whose management team has unconventional exploration experience in the United States claims to have discovered a natural gas shale field near Blackpool, in Lancashire, England, that may rival rock in the United States.