Spur

The Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) report Thursday morning that 12 Bcf was withdrawn from underground storage for the week ended Aug. 4 did little to spur natural gas futures higher as the withdrawal was thought to have already been factored into the market. The expected withdrawal along with overall weakness in the petroleum trading pits allowed September natural gas to close at $7.529, down 12.2 cents from Wednesday.

House Democrats last week introduced legislation that would, at current prices, put an end to much of the royalty relief for oil and natural gas production on federal lands. Republicans began an inquiry into the Interior Department’s implementation of the royalty relief program. Industry urged lawmakers to look at the “full picture,” saying the federal government would lose more than it would gain by eliminating royalty relief.

A pipeline group and producer association teamed up Tuesday to ask FERC to make a series of permanent regulatory and policy changes to spur the construction of interstate natural gas pipeline expansions, new storage capacity and facilities related to liquefied natural gas (LNG) import projects.

FERC on Thursday took steps to spur and expedite repairs and the construction of new interstate natural gas pipelines in an effort to bolster deliveries of gas supplies this winter from the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast region.

The oil and gas title of the Senate omnibus energy bill would spur development of natural gas storage, accelerate interstate pipeline projects, give sole siting authority over liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities to FERC and promote the sharing of Outer Continental Shelf (OCS ) revenues with coastal states.

In order to spur more natural gas storage development, FERC should grant independent storage operators “blanket” market-based rate authority, approve waivers of the shipper-must-hold-title and capacity-release regulations, ease the public’s fears associated with the development of new storage facilities, and treat storage facilities as it did liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects nearly two years ago, several independent storage operators told the Commission last week.

In order to spur more natural gas storage development, FERC should grant independent storage operators “blanket” market-based rate authority, approve waivers of the shipper-must-hold-title and capacity-release regulations, ease the public’s fears associated with the development of new storage facilities, and treat storage facilities as it did liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects nearly two years ago, several independent storage operators told the Commission Thursday.

The announced merger of Kerr-McGee Corp. and Westport Resources Inc. is not likely to spur a lot of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity among producers, RBC Capital Markets said in new Oil & Gas Exploration and Production report.

They didn’t make up all the ground lost in Friday’s plunge, but prices did see solid across-the-board rebounds Monday. Sources cited the continuing creep eastward in the northern tier of states of cold weather that had been confined to the West last week as a significant factor, but also mentioned delayed influence from a screen surge Friday and the return of industrial load following a weekend.