Release

The Canadian government plans to release a study soon on the risks the country would face if it allows liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers to pass through Head Harbour Passage, according to a Canadian Embassy spokesman.

Following Tuesday’s pressure release that saw the May natural gas contract lose 24.5 cents, traders on Wednesday were able to resume their course towards higher prices despite the continued easing of tensions in the Middle East. The prompt month gained 8.9 cents Wednesday to finish at $7.515.

Increasing the expected value of its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange prior to its release Friday, Nymex Holdings Inc., through Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings this week, said it has increased its share expectation price from between $48 to $52 to between $54 to $57, while also expanding the offering to 6.5 million shares from 6 million shares. The frenzy over Nymex’s IPO has also boosted the share prices of other exchanges.

Connecticut’s outspoken attorney general wants FERC to release critical information about a proposed deepwater liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal to be located off the coast of Connecticut and Long Island, without first formally filing a request and signing a non-disclosure agreement with the agency.

As previewed late last week, the Port of Long Beach’s Harbor commissioners Monday night agreed to release a joint draft environmental impact report (EIR) on the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in the harbor and established four public hearings on the document between Nov. 14 and Dec. 1 Comments are due to the port or the document’s joint author, FERC staff, by Dec. 8.

The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board plans to release a draft strategic environmental assessment (SEA) later this month on the offshore Misaine Bank area, a region off Cape Breton’s East Coast that up to now remains mostly unexplored for oil and gas.

Concerns about the presence of a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico and petroleum sympathy seemed to trump the release of a bearish natural gas storage report on Thursday, as July natural gas futures ended up settling 4.5 cents higher on the day at $7.045.

Sparked by continued strength in the petroleum complex along with the release of a bullish Atlantic hurricane forecast, May natural gas futures on Friday retained — and continued to build on — their gains for the week.

After soaring to new 2005 highs following the release of fresh storage data (95 Bcf withdrawal) on Thursday, the natural gas futures market chopped lower late in the session to end the day on a negative note. At $7.238, the April contract finished the session more than 14 cents below its $7.38 top but still up 4.6 cents on the day. Looking ahead, market watchers wonder whether the recent gains in both natural gas and crude futures can be sustained in the short to medium term.