Slow

Canadian natural gas supplies have resumed growing at a slow but steady rate of 1% per year, the National Energy Board (NEB) reported. In an annual “deliverability” survey, the NEB dropped previous predictions of decline. Average daily Canadian productive capacity will rise from 17.07 Bcf/d in 2005 to 17.22 Bcf/d this year and 17.39 Bcf/d in 2007, the board said.

The U.S. power system managed the second hottest July in 100 years quite well this year, but the slow-down in power plant construction and the length of time required to permit the large number of proposed coal-fired power plants could put the system at risk in a few years, according to a new report by energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.

While it was a quiet holiday for much of the energy industry, natural gas futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange showed no corresponding slow down. Amid reports of colder temperatures, November natural gas pushed to a high of $6.800 before coming back down to close at $6.429, up less than a penny on the day.

Ramping up oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricanes Rita and Katrina moved at an excruciatingly slow pace last week, with several major producers and pipeline operators still assessing damage to onshore and offshore infrastructure.

Northeast citygates continued to slide moderately Thursday as a slow warming trend in the region proceeded, but all other points ranged from flat to 32 cents higher. Declines about midway between a dime and 15 cents at Tennessee Zone 6 and Transco Zone 6-New York City topped the losses.

Although the federal government’s slow response to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina will be forever seared into the memory of the nation, there were a few things that went right — including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s quick action to help rebuild the damaged energy infrastructure along the Gulf region, according to a comprehensive review of the government’s performance during the disaster last August.

The U.S. seems slow to realize that it must try harder to compete for global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply. And even with all the Rockies pipeline projects that have been completed in the past few years, more takeaway capacity is needed for regional production to realize its true value. These themes were common in the “Alternative Gas — Supply Sources for the Region” panel discussion Tuesday at the LDC Forum-Rockies and West conference in Los Angeles.

The slow recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast region and Gulf of Mexico continued Tuesday with total gas production shut-ins onshore and offshore finally dropping below 8 Bcf/d, according to a report from Golden, CO-based Bentek Energy. Bentek, which is tracking gas production nominations on the region’s major pipeline systems, said shuts-ins totaled about 7,766 MMcf/d on Tuesday, down from 8,003 MMcf/d on Monday and 8,208 MMcf/d on Sunday.

Spurred by a rebound across the petroleum futures complex combined with slow to return natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, October natural gas futures kept its stay below $11 brief. After settling below $11 on Tuesday for the first time since Hurricane Katrina, prompt month natural gas on Wednesday climbed 40.3 cents to close at $11.166.