Sharp

Even with the overall market making a sharp reversal Wednesday from the price spikes of the first two days of the week, New England citygates pushed to new highs as severe winter weather continued to intensify. The Algonquin citygate hit $12.00 at its high end in very volatile trading, while Iroquois Zone 2 and Tennessee Zone 6 peaked at $11.60 and $10, respectively.

For the third session in a row, natural gas futures opened in negative territory. However, in sharp contrast to the restrained buying seen Monday and Tuesday, the market accelerated higher Wednesday amid waves of technical and fundamental buying.

Quite a few market observers were perplexed by the sudden sharp increase in natural gas futures prices Thursday after the EIA reported another relatively large weekly storage injection of 78 Bcf. The 16-cent increase in futures was even more surprising in light of the apparent discrepancy between EIA’s weekly estimated storage numbers and the actual storage numbers from EIA’s monthly data for earlier this year.

Despite recent sharp declines in Canadian production and exports to the United States (down 6% in March to 301 Bcf), a new analysis by the Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) concludes that as long as gas supply from unconventional sources, such as coalbed methane and new basins, can be brought on stream in a timely manner, gas production in Canada can be sustained at levels higher than currently exist through at least 2025.

Despite recent sharp declines in Canadian production and exports to the United States, a new analysis by the Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) concludes that as long as gas supply from unconventional sources, such as coalbed methane and new basins, can be brought on stream in a timely manner, gas production in Canada can be sustained at levels higher than currently exist through at least 2025.

Unlike the sharp drop and subsequent recovery of natural gas storage stocks in the winter of 2000-2001, today’s low storage levels may be a continuing phenomenon, analyst Stephen Smith said, indicating “embedded tightness” in the system.

With its Ladyfern field showing a sharp decline last year, Canadian Natural Resources Inc. plans to step up its exploration and production program in a recently acquired region of Alberta, sticking with a strategy to keep its natural gas production in North America on an equal pace with oil.

With its Ladyfern field showing a sharp decline last year, Canadian Natural Resources Inc. plans to step up its exploration and production program in a recently acquired region of Alberta, sticking with a strategy to keep its natural gas production in North America on an equal pace with oil.

Canadian natural gas exports took a sharp turn for the better in the opening month of the new sales contract year last November. Deliveries to the United States rose by 4.5% to 312 Bcf from 299 Bcf in November of 2001, according to records kept on the trade by Canada’s National Energy Board.