Rising

As traders had expected, prices used Thursday afternoon’s andFriday morning’s futures strength as a springboard to achieveincreases that were mostly between a nickel and a dime Friday.

About 300 MMcf/d of Sable Island gas is flowing through theMaritimes & Northeast Pipeline currently to markets in theU.S., a spokeswoman for the pipeline company said last week. Thepipe, which transports gas produced offshore Nova Scotia, isexpected to be shipping 450 MMcf/d by summer and 530 MMcf/d whenthe Halifax, St. John’s and Point Tupper laterals in Canada areconstructed and open for service.

About 300 MMcf/d of Sable Island gas is flowing through theMaritimes & Northeast Pipeline currently to markets in theU.S., a spokeswoman for the pipeline company said yesterday. Thepipe, which transports gas produced offshore Nova Scotia, isexpected to be shipping 450 MMcf/d by summer and 530 MMcf/d whenthe Halifax, St. John’s and Point Tupper laterals in Canada areconstructed and open for service.

Cash numbers remained in their early-March climbing modeThursday, with advances of about a nickel to more than a dimeclosely mirroring those of the day before. However, a majordifference on Thursday was that western upticks tended to besmallest. The larger increases were mostly in eastern markets.

Prices for the last day of February were generally on theupswing Monday, ranging from flat in California to more than a dimehigher at a few Northeast points.

After all the winter storm excitement in recent weeks, themarket appeared to be growing calmer Wednesday yet still managed tokeep pushing prices higher. Most of the upticks were between anickel and a little over a dime, with the Northeast remaining thebastion of dollar-plus increases.

Unocal Corp. said it expects worldwide average net oil and gasproduction to rise 44% to nearly 700,000 Boe/d by 2004. The updatedoutlook reflects a 7.6% annual growth in net worldwide productionfrom an estimated 485,000 Boe/d in 1999. Net Lower 48 U.S.production is expected to rise 44% to an estimated 237,000 Boe/d in2004.

Amid a devastating combination of rising temperatures andfalling cash prices the natural gas futures market started the yearwith a crash Tuesday, as commercial and speculative traders alikeliquidated their long positions and added to their shorts. Theprice impact was felt immediately, with the February contractgapping a whopping 10 cents lower en route to a 15.3-cent loss tosettle at $2.176. Despite the sizeable move lower, estimated volumewas a relatively modest 62,491.

Cash prices kept rising Wednesday but at a considerably slowerrate than on Monday and Tuesday. Most of the new increases werearound a nickel or less, and the Northern California points ofMalin and the PG&E citygate actually fell slightly afterPG&E elected not to extend a low-linepack OFO. Sourcesindicated some retreat is likely today, saying the cash market hadmilked just about all the upside possible out of recent forecastsfor colder weather. In addition, the screen’s decline of nearly adime Wednesday should be a negative influence, they said.