Sending

Sending shockwaves through the natural gas futures market ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported at noon (EST) Wednesday that 49 Bcf was pulled from storage for the week ended Nov. 19. The number fell so far outside of anyone’s expectations that market watchers were looking to the EIA for some sort of explanation.

Sending shockwaves through the natural gas futures market ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported at noon (EST) Wednesday that 49 Bcf was pulled from storage for the week ended Nov. 19. The number fell so far outside of anyone’s expectations that market watchers were looking to the EIA for some sort of explanation.

House lawmakers voted out the omnibus Republican-crafted energy bill by a wide margin Tuesday, sending it to the Senate to consider and moving it one step closer to becoming law. If the measure clears the Senate this week, as top Republicans expect, it will be the first major overhaul of the national energy policy in a decade.

Kern River Gas Transmission is sending its 2003 expansion customers a little something extra in its “Thank You” notes for signing up for nearly 900 MMcf/d of new gas transportation capacity to Nevada and California markets from western Wyoming. The company said it is decreasing demand charges by 11.4% for 15-year expansion shippers and by 8.2% for 10-year expansion shippers. The proposed rate reductions reflect the lower interest rates in the final debt refinancing of the expansion, which went into service on May 1.

Kern River Gas Transmission is sending its 2003 expansion customers a little something extra in their “Thank You” notes for signing up for nearly 900 MMcf/d of new gas transportation capacity to Nevada and California markets from western Wyoming. The company said it is decreasing demand charges by 11.4% for 15-year expansion shippers and by 8.2% for 10-year expansion shippers. The proposed rate reductions reflect the lower interest rates in the final debt refinancing of the expansion, which went into service on May 1.

With Canada already around freezing and sending those semi-arctic conditions south of the border, traders braced for a week of cold with price upticks Monday that were fairly moderate, around a dime or less in a majority of instances. But the Rockies market continued its torrid pace from last week with further spikes, and was joined in double-digit gains by San Juan Basin, Pacific Northwest and Western Canada points and some Northeast citygates.

The prospect of the first significant voluntary production shut-ins in years is looming for the gas industry in about another month or so, according to an informal sampling of opinions among the trading community (“voluntary” means unrelated to a hurricane, pipeline maintenance or force majeure event). While a majority of sources fully expect to see such shut-ins beginning within a few weeks, it’s not a foregone conclusion, said a few dissenters.

Tampa-based Peoples Gas is sending a gift of sorts to its customers beginning today by reducing natural gas prices for the second time this year. The Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) factor on residential bills will drop about 32% to $0.66749/therm, following a 15% decrease in March. The two reductions lowered the PGA factor to September 2000 levels, said the company.

Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) of the House Energy and Air QualitySubcommittee said last week he was sending to the White House a”list of ideas” about what the federal government can do to helpCalifornia with its ongoing electricity crisis.