Suffered

September natural gas futures suffered a double-digit drubbing Thursday as the release of fresh storage inventory data revealing another large injection of 77 Bcf served to further allay concerns of a supply shortfall.

The bullish natural gas futures case suffered yet another bearish fundamental body blow on Thursday as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that 110 Bcf was injected into underground storage for the week ended June 1. While July natural gas futures bulls put up a good fight in morning trade, the contract ended up dropping 25.5 cents Thursday to close at $7.825.

The long-stalled Islander East Pipeline suffered a recent setback when a Connecticut agency denied — for a second time — the proposed Connecticut-to-Long Island pipeline’s request for a water quality permit. Islander East promptly petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York. to review and reject the state’s decision.

The long-stalled Islander East Pipeline suffered a major setback last Tuesday when a Connecticut agency denied — for a second time — the proposed Connecticut-to-Long Island pipeline’s request for a water quality permit. Islander East promptly petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York. to review and reject the state’s decision.

As most of the nation suffered under 90-100 degree heat last week, all seven of the nation’s regional electric transmission grid operators reported record power demand on their systems. On Thursday the ISO-RTO Council, which represents the seven grid operators, reported a new record of aggregated peak power usage of 483,233 MW, up 1.6% from the previous record of 475,717 set last summer.

El Paso Corp., the gas pipeline company that suffered the most under the wrath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year, is taking a number of new precautions in preparation for what may be another active hurricane season, said Dan Martin, senior vice president of operations for El Paso’s five major regulated pipelines.

While CF Industries Holdings, Inc. suffered no damage to its Donaldsonville, LA nitrogen fertilizer complex during hurricanes Katrina and Rita, its business will be off in the fourth quarter due to the high cost of feedstock natural gas. And its greatest challenge could come in the spring if farmers decide to cut back on planting because of high fertilizer costs.

While CF Industries Holdings, Inc. suffered no damage to its Donaldsonville, LA nitrogen fertilizer complex during hurricanes Katrina and Rita, its business will be off in the fourth quarter due to the high cost of feedstock natural gas. And its greatest challenge could come in the spring if farmers decide to cut back on planting because of high fertilizer costs.

The natural gas industry suffered a major disappointment last Thursday when a House Appropriations subcommittee approved a modest increase in the baseline funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for fiscal 2006, and failed to provide any emergency funds in the event of extreme weather and energy prices.