Supported

Fundamentals point to lower natural gas prices in 2008, but for the near-term, gas prices will continue to be supported by high oil prices, Fitch Ratings analysts said in a report. Longer term, however, prices may fall dramatically.

Fundamentals point to lower natural gas prices in 2008, but for the near term gas prices will continue to be supported by high oil prices, Fitch Ratings analysts said in a report Tuesday. Longer term, however, prices may fall dramatically.

October natural gas futures shot 37.4 cents higher Monday to close at $6.653 as the market dealt with another round of short-covering supported by continued crude price strength combined with news that a compressor station outage had cut off deliveries to Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline from two major pipes out of the Rockies.

A call by Canada’s Minister of Finance to begin taxing the distributable cash of income trusts in four years was supported last week by Bank of Canada Gov. David Dodge, who said the federal government should have acted “years ago” to end the tax loophole.

On a day the entire petroleum complex plunged lower, June natural gas futures, supported by the psychological $6.000 support level, only managed a 15.7 cent drop on Monday to close at $6.123.

A city-mandated independent financial review of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) last week supported the utility’s contention it needs new natural gas and renewable energy surcharges as well as permanent new retail water rates. The report prepared by the Barrington-Wellesley Group (BWG) will be considered by the LADWP five-member oversight board when it meets Tuesday.

The experience of existing U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities during the recent Gulf of Mexico hurricanes has supported the designs for new terminals and demonstrated that onsite power generation is probably the single most important added consideration for the new projects, according to Sempra Energy COO Donald Felsinger.

Renewable energy capacity in the U.S. supported by voluntary demand rather than regulatory requirements now tops 2,200 MW — up more than 1,000% in just five years, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released last week at the 10th national green power marketing conference in Austin, TX. The report also notes that purchases by large businesses, institutions and governmental entities are driving the growth of the U.S. voluntary green power market.

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC last Tuesday ruled that FERC acted correctly when it rejected a rate settlement that was supported by the majority of Equitrans LP’s shippers in favor of a preexisting settlement that was backed by non-shipper producers.