Savior

The United States’ expectations that liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be the “savior” for its gas supply problems may be too high, said a top official with American Electric Power (AEP) last Tuesday.

The Rocky Mountain region is seen by many as the supply savior of the U.S. natural gas marketplace, but production growth in the region probably will be lower than many expect for the same reasons that have hindered development historically: pipeline takeaway constraints and the slow regulatory process, particularly drilling permitting, said Stu Wagner, an analyst with Petrie Parkman in Denver.

The United States’ expectations that liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be the “savior” for its gas supply problems may be too high, said a top official with American Electric Power (AEP) Tuesday.

Wind energy could be the savior of natural gas consumers, reducing the amount of gas used to fuel the nation’s many gas-fired power generation plants and helping to relieve some upward pressure on gas prices, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). At least one expert, however, says that’s a bunch of “baloney.”

Tuesdays have been a natural gas bull’s savior as of late. Making it three in a row, futures rebounded yesterday as traders once again were in a buying mood ahead of Wednesday’s weekly storage report. Fighting against a gap lower open and a quick move down to $4.05, buyers stepped up their efforts mid-morning and watched as prices bubbled higher throughout much of the rest of the session. Although small, the one-cent advance leading to yesterday’s $4.123 closing price was claimed as a victory by bulls who have found little to like about this market thus far in 2001.