Stay

Assuming that weather conditions stay consistent with the 1970-1999 average, and oil prices continue to moderate, Energy and Environmental Analysis Inc. (EEA) expects natural gas prices at the Henry Hub to average $3.28/MMBtu this month and $3.07/MMBtu for the remainder of the 2001 gas storage injection season. The research firm said it expects working gas in storage to reach 3.2 Tcf by the start of the winter heating season, higher than the 3.03 Tcf in 1999 and 2.66 Tcf in 2000.

Assuming that weather conditions stay consistent with the 1970-1999 average, and oil prices continue to moderate, Energy and Environmental Analysis Inc. (EEA) expects natural gas prices at the Henry Hub for July to average $3.28/MMBtu, and $3.07/MMBtu for the remainder of the 2001 gas storage injection season. The research firm said it expects working gas in storage to reach 3.2 Tcf by the start of the winter heating season, higher than the 3.03 Tcf in 1999 and 2.66 Tcf in 2000.

The April aftermarket got off to a weak start Friday as quotesfor gas flows Sunday and today were below both first-of-monthindexes and end-of-March levels in virtually all cases. The biggestdropoffs occurred in California, where temperatures were much moresummer-like than elsewhere. However, the Golden State stillretained the dubious distinction of having the most expensive gasby far.

Due to a relatively warm February and “price-induced reductionsin gas demand,” the winter natural gas crisis is not as bad as itcould it be, according to Energy Security Analysis Inc. (ESAI) inits March Natural Gas Stockwatch. With prices back in the $5 areathe question now becomes, where do we go from here?

To stay competitively in the game, power plant players of thefuture need to manage a lot of risks: fuel, market, financial andpolitical, which can change almost as quickly as the weather,according to a panel of electric power honchos speaking at lastweek’s Cambridge Energy Research Associates’ CERAWeek 2001 meetingin Houston.

To stay competitively in the game, power plant players of thefuture need to manage a lot of risks: fuel, market, financial andpolitical, which can change almost as quickly as the weather,according to a panel of electric power honchos speaking atyesterday’s Cambridge Energy Research Associates’ CERAWeek 2001meeting in Houston.

As natural gas shortages become almost commonplace, and pricescontinued to stay perched at the higher end, it comes as nosurprise that producers such as Chevron, Texaco and Burlington haveincreased their capital and exploratory spending programs in 2001.

Washington D.C.-based Potomac Electric Power Company (Pepco) isseeking a stay in a lower court in Maryland of a July 1 orderissued by state regulators, which restricts the businessrelationship between in-state electric and gas utilities and theirnon-regulated subsidiaries.

Several sources had expected cash prices to stay put for themost part Wednesday until the AGA’s storage report was released inthe afternoon, but they were fooled. Instead, buoyed by a firmerscreen during the morning, cash got a head start on the subsequentbig futures run-up by rising about a dime or more at nearly allpoints.