storage

July natural gas futures soared Monday as traders discarded less-than-encouraging weather forecasts, ample storage supplies and a declining rig count that has failed to make a dent in production for largely technical factors.

Southern California Gas did not extend a high-linepack OFO beyond Wednesday.

Citing “unseasonably high inventory levels at Clay Basin [storage facility],” Questar said it will not accept any ISS (interruptible) injection or transfer nominations there effective June 1 until further notice.

Southern Natural Gas said its shut-in test of the Muldon (MS) Storage Field from Tuesday through April 20 constitutes a force majeure event and it will reduce CSS customers’ injection and withdrawal quotas on a pro rata basis during the test. See the bulletin board for details.

NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage (NGT&S) unit Columbia Gas Transmission (CGT) is holding a binding open season until 12 p.m. CDT April 3 for transportation capacity to Eastern markets following modifications to CGT’s Easton Compressor Station. The modifications were designed to increase delivery capacity from the Wagoner interconnection point between Columbia and Millennium pipelines on Columbia’s Line 1278. Increased capacity would be available for areas 21-25, 28-29 and/or 30. Information is available at www.ngtsnavigates.com or by contacting Joshua Gibbon at jgibbon@nisource.com; (713) 267-4718.

Propelled almost entirely by the previous day’s 49-cent futures spike following a modestly bullish storage injection report, the cash market rose at nearly all points Friday. Although it was on the light side, residual heating load in Canada, the northern half of the U.S. and to some extent in the eastern end of the South provided auxiliary price support, and apparently the usual weekend decline of industrial demand had little impact.

Tennessee Pipeline shippers are urging FERC to make certain adjustments for replacement shippers under the agency’s Order 712, which lifted the price ceiling on short-term releases of natural gas transportation capacity.

After falling 20.3 cents on Wednesday and Thursday despite a winter freeze in a number of U.S. regions and a fairly bullish storage withdrawal, January natural gas futures continued the push on Friday by putting in a new low at $5.267 in afternoon trading before settling at $5.334, down 21.4 cents from Thursday’s finish and 15.4 cents lower than the previous week’s close.

Citing high inventory levels at its Clay Basin storage facility, Questar said effective Thursday it will not accept any imbalance payback to the pipeline. “In addition, nominations and actual volumes delivered must align…so that injections into Questar Pipeline’s Clay Basin balancing account are limited,” it added. Questar also said it will be running a pig next Tuesday in the ML 68 segment between Greasewood and Fidlar compressor stations. Due to high flow rates currently coming out of the Rifle, CO area, Questar said it may need to temporarily reduce production coming into ML 68 that day to ensure a safe pig run, but it intends to keep nominations whole.