Rise

Natural gas and oil operating costs in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) continued to rise in 2008 because of higher processing fees, maintenance services and higher energy costs, but the costs through the first nine months of 2009 were “virtually flat” from a year ago, Ziff Energy Group reported Monday.

Natural gas basis trades reported on the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) electronic system do not rise to the level of performing a significant price-discovery function (SPDF), ICE said in objecting to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) proposal to designate 15 natural gas basis contracts as qualifying for SPDF treatment.

Natural gas basis trades reported on the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) electronic system do not rise to the level of performing a significant price-discovery function (SPDF), ICE said in objecting to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) proposal to designate 15 natural gas basis contracts as qualifying for SPDF treatment.

Prices continued to rise across the board Wednesday, spurred largely by the previous day’s spike of 32.6 cents by November futures for the first daily close above $5 since January. However, there was some indication that the cash market is beginning — at least temporarily — to acknowledge that weather-based fundamentals have been getting weaker after virtually all gains shrank Wednesday and not all of them were in double digits as was the case Tuesday.

Modest power demand growth, the rise of renewable energy, particularly wind, and a slug of new coal-fired capacity hitting the market over the next couple of years will pressure gas-fired generation, according to analysts.

Modest power demand growth and the rise of renewable energy, particularly wind, could signal the end of the boom times for gas-fired power generation, analysts at Barclays Capital said in a research note.

Prices continued to rise at a large majority of eastern points Tuesday, but continuing hot weather in much of the West was unable to prevent softness on some pipes in that region. Gains defied a drop of 9.1 cents a day earlier by August futures and little in the way of major hot weather overall.

The effects of global climate change, including severe droughts, excessive sea level rise, erratic storm behavior, deteriorating glaciers, pestilence and shifts in agriculture ranges, could increase instability and lead to conflict in already fragile regions of the world, witnesses said during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC, last Tuesday.

The effects of global climate change, including severe droughts, excessive sea level rise, erratic storm behavior, deteriorating glaciers, pestilence and shifts in agriculture ranges, could increase instability and lead to conflict in already fragile regions of the world, witnesses said during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.