Remain

Natural gas wellhead prices will likely remain in the $5-6/Mcf range for the remainder of the year according to an updated report authored by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC). The projection marks a more than 30% increase over the average price that prevailed throughout 2000 and 2001 of $3.87/Mcf.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Thursday fine-tuned his message on liquefied natural gas (LNG) in his second appearance before Congress in less than a month, saying that the United States at a minimum ought to have a “standby LNG system” in place to lessen price volatility in the domestic gas market. But he signaled that the nation should work in the longer term to eliminate it as a back-up by producing “far more” domestic gas supplies.

Falling behind its initial downtime prediction, Transocean Inc. said Monday that its deepwater drillship Discoverer Enterprise remains on location in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico at zero dayrate while continuing the investigation with respect to the riser separation which occurred on May 21 (see Daily GPI, May 27).

Calling it one of the most important annual meetings that the company has had in its history, Aquila CEO Richard Green Jr. started out by offering an apology to shareholders for the company’s poor performance. Over the past few years, Aquila shareholders have seen the stock price plummet over 90% and their dividends cut to the point of elimination.

Calling it one of the most important annual meetings that the company has had in its history, Aquila CEO Richard Green Jr. started out by offering an apology to shareholders for the company’s poor performance. Over the past few years, Aquila shareholders have seen the stock price plummet over 90% and their dividends cut to the point of elimination.

After spiking 43 cents on frenzied buying Monday, natural gas futures sifted lower Tuesday as traders took profits on bearish weather forecasts as well as expectations calling for a large storage injection to be announced later this week.

In sympathy with firmer crude oil prices and in reaction to constructive weather forecasts, prompt month natural gas futures rebounded off early lows Monday to post a fifth-straight daily advance. The January contract gained 5.7 cents to $5.341 and the February contract notched a 6.2-cent rise to $5.297.

State attorneys general and utility regulatory commissions remain divided in their reactions to FERC’s sweeping proposal to implement a standard market design (SMD) for U.S. wholesale electricity markets.

The large negative basis differential in the Rocky Mountain region is likely to continue over the long term despite the planned increases in pipeline capacity, according to an in-depth analysis by Denver-based consulting firm Bentek Energy LLC.