Robust

The Asian market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is likely to stay robust for the long term, two Singapore-based energy attorneys said Tuesday. They also predicted a shift from conventional to more unconventional gas resources in the region.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) announced this week that Chesapeake Energy Corp. vice president of government affairs Dave Spigelmyer has been re-elected as the organization’s chair. Randy Albert (COO, Gas Operations, CONSOL Energy), Scott Roy (vice president, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Range Resources Corp.) and John Mollenkopf (senior vice president and COO, MarkWest Energy Partners) were re-elected as vice chair, treasurer and secretary, respectively. The 2013 executive board members are: Dave Cannon, deputy general counsel, Government and Environmental Affairs, EQT Corp.; Jeff Kupfer, senior advisor, Policy and Government Affairs, Chevron; Heather Lamparter, vice president, Legal, EXCO Resources (PA), LLC; Craig Mayer, general counsel, Pennsylvania General Energy; Gary Smith, vice president and general manager, EOG Resources; and Jack Williams, president, XTO Energy. John Bonn, president of NiSource Midstream Services, NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage, and Terry Bossert, senior vice president, Environment & Regulatory Affairs, Chief Oil & Gas, were elected by their peers to serve as at-large members of the Executive Board. Formed three years ago as an organization tasked with addressing issues regarding the production of natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays, the MSC has grown to a diverse, member-driven organization representing virtually every business segment along the robust shale supply chain in the region.

CF Industries Holdings Inc., an agricultural fertilizer manufacturer and distributor, reported record third quarter earnings on Tuesday and said low natural gas costs were part of a favorable outlook for 2013.

Robust demand from the power generation sector has helped to rebalance the natural gas market and fundamentals are in place for prices to increase to “at least $4[/Mcf] this winter,” according to Canaccord Genuity analyst John Gerdes.

Robust demand from the power generation sector has helped to rebalance the natural gas market and fundamentals are in place for prices to increase to “at least $4[/Mcf] this winter,” according to Canaccord Genuity analyst John Gerdes.

A combination of slackened demand and robust production will make natural gas supplies plentiful in the Pacific Northwest until 2029 at least, Spokane, WA-based Avista Utilities recently told regulators in the three states in which it has gas and electric operations.

The conditions that have been keeping a lid on natural gas prices — unusually warm winter weather and robust gas supplies — had both positive and negative impacts on Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP’s (BPP) business in 1Q2012, according to CEO Stan Horten.

Both the cash and futures marched lower Wednesday. The looming question of where the current storage surplus combined with robust production will find a home come October continues to pressure the market. Futures slipped below $2, establishing a new 10-year low. Most markets were off by about a nickel, and Northeast points hovered in the vicinity of unchanged.

Robust natural gas and oil supply growth has the potential by 2020 to “radically reindustrialize” the United States and Canada and create “the New Middle East,” as long as politics don’t get in the way, according to an indepth report prepared by the energy team at Citigroup Global Markets Inc.