Testing

March natural gas broke its streak of eight consecutive regular sessions lower on Thursday, testing the $7 level again before rallying higher to close at $7.134, up 6.8 cents on the day. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Thursday that 102 Bcf was withdrawn from underground stores for the week ended Feb. 10. The number, which was closer to historical analogs than other recent weekly withdrawals, was still short of the industry’s expectations.

For a second consecutive regular session, natural gas futures were bent on testing lower levels in the morning only to be rebuffed in the afternoon. Uncertainty swirling around the potential damage to oil and natural gas infrastructure combined with a stagnant shut-in report helped October natural gas settle 21.6 cents higher Tuesday at $12.656, one day before the contract’s expiration.

Despite continued stagnation in terms of shut-in returns from the Gulf of Mexico, October natural gas futures continued to explore lower on Tuesday, testing support lines and settling below $11 for the first time since Hurricane Katrina hit at $10.763, down 26.8 cents from Monday.

NGPL said its hydrostatic testing on the Amarillo Mainline #3 north and south of Station 195 in Washington County, KS is running into delays and is now expected to be completed Aug. 15 instead of this past Friday as previously scheduled. ITS/AOR and Secondary out-of-path services are unavailable in the affected area during this work. The pipeline also postponed a caliper pig run from Station 104 to Station on the Amarillo Mainline #3 from July 27-28 until Aug. 17. No impact on service is anticipated from this pig run.

After testing higher in the morning, May natural gas futures used Monday afternoon to feel its way lower. However, the prompt month was rebuffed by the $6.87 to $6.89 level for the second time in three days, leading May futures to crawl higher to a $6.95 settle, down 4.7 cents.

As long cases testing the limits of access to suburban Alberta drilling targets ground through the regulatory process this winter, even the industry’s environmental critics showed respect for the central role natural gas plays in livelihoods and public services across Canada’s chief producing province.

NiSource Inc. subsidiary Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. last Thursday said it is testing the waters to determine the interest of Appalachian producers in a potential expansion of its existing natural gas pipeline system that would permit delivery of additional supplies to markets in the Upper Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.

As long cases testing the limits of access to suburban Alberta drilling targets ground through the regulatory process this winter, even the industry’s environmental critics showed respect for the central role natural gas plays in livelihoods and public services across Canada’s chief producing province.

NiSource Inc. subsidiary Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. said Thursday it is testing the waters to determine the interest of Appalachian producers in a potential expansion of its existing natural gas pipeline system that would permit delivery of additional supplies to markets in the Upper Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.