Natural gas futures fell again Monday, extending losses from the prior week as forecasts pointed to more mild weather and LNG volumes continued to prove turbulent. The November Nymex gas futures contract settled at $2.840/MMBtu, down 8.9 cents day/day. December fell 7.9 cents to $3.233. At A Glance: Mild temperatures ahead Production ticks lower NGI…
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Western Hubs Surge as Natural Gas Forwards Strengthen on Hotter June Outlook
With forecasts finally flashing more impressive heat over southern U.S. markets to strengthen the cooling demand outlook, natural gas forwards rallied during the June 1-7 trading period, NGI’s Forward Look data show. July fixed prices at benchmark Henry Hub added 6.1 cents during the period to finish at $2.328/MMBtu. Most Lower 48 hubs finished in…

ExxonMobil’s Global Trading Arm Aiming to Leverage Heft in Natural Gas, Oil and Refinery Operations
ExxonMobil’s natural gas, crude, power and petroleum products trading as of June 1 will become “one centralized trading organization for the whole corporation,” able to stand with any global competitor, CEO Darren Woods said Friday. The new Global Trading arm has been in the works in some form or fashion since 2018, Woods said during…

Natural Gas Pipeline Capacity Release Trading Jumps, but Post-Covid Recovery Proving Unstable
In a sign that the energy industry’s recovery from Covid-19 remains choppy, monthly trading for natural gas pipeline capacity releases reversed course, soaring 178% in June, according to the latest figures from The Capacity Center. The jump was a massive improvement from May, when monthly transactions plunged 70% from April levels, the data services company’s…

After Winning ICE Listing, Spark Commodities Zeroes in on Building Liquid LNG Freight Contracts
Tim Mendelssohn, managing director and co-founder of Spark Commodities, believes the liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade needs more options to manage risk as the market continues to evolve and more players buy and sell the super-chilled fuel. He launched Spark in early 2019 along with Charles Vallantin Dulac with the backing of commodity data and…

Vitol Acquiring Hunt Oil Permian Assets, Citing Bright Future for Lower 48
Vencer Energy LLC, the upstream subsidiary of global commodities trading giant Vitol, said Friday it has agreed to acquire Hunt Oil Co.’s assets in the Permian Midland Basin for an undisclosed sum. The assets comprise 44,000 acres across five counties with current daily production of about 40,000 boe/d, said Geneva, Switzerland-based Vitol. The acquisition “realizes…

Trading Giant Vitol Agrees to Settle Latin American Bribery Case
The U.S. affiliate of Swiss commodities giant Vitol Inc. has admitted to bribing Brazilian, Ecuadorian and Mexican officials over the course of more than a decade in exchange for illicit competitive advantages. Vitol agreed to pay $135 million to resolve the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation into the schemes to pay off government officials in…

TruMarx CEO Sees Digitalization as Key to Meeting Growing LNG Trading Requirements
Jon Olson, co-founder of TruMarx Data Partners Inc., believes the liquefied natural gas (LNG) business is “hamstrung” by antiquated processes to buy and sell the super-chilled fuel, but his company is among many that are racing to digitalize the space and boost liquidity with a modern trading platform. NGI: Can you briefly explain TruMarx’s business…

Tokyo Gas Establishes LNG Trading Unit Under Plans to Strengthen Global Operations
Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd., one of the largest buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Japan, said Tuesday that it has established a new company to more actively trade the super-chilled fuel as it looks to strengthen its hand in the global market. TG Global Trading Co. Ltd. (TGT) has been established to build on…

LNG Q&A: Emsurge Founder Talks Technology, Better Connecting Global Natural Gas Market
Editor’s Note: The following segment is one in a series by NGI’s LNG Insight focused on exploring how the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market works. The conversations in this series will also analyze news and the issues that matter most to the industry in North America and beyond. Melissa Lindsay is the founder of…