Trajectory

Natural gas production in the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Other States category, which includes Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia — and, with them, some of the nation’s booming shale plays — reached 26.37 Bcf/d in July, compared with 26.13 Bcf/d in June and 22.67 Bcf/d in July 2012, EIA said Monday.

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) has a new $6 million grant program to help companies replace their older forklifts and medium- and heavy-duty diesel vehicles with ultra low-emission natural gas- and propane-fueled equipment. The grant program is funded by the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Since 2005, the RRC has awarded $39.5 million in grants to Texas companies and school districts, and has reduced emissions of smog-forming nitrogen oxides by nearly 5,000 tons. To be eligible for the grants, new equipment must meet the latest emissions standards and operate in one of the 43 counties designated by the TCEQ as having substandard air quality. The grant amount averages $9,500. For more information, visit www.altenergy.rrc.state.tx.us.

A group of North American exploration and production (E&P) companies, which traditionally have mirrored the overall U.S. natural gas output trajectory directionally, is guiding toward an output decline this year, with the large caps forecasting the biggest drop, according to a review by Barclays Capital.

The cash market continued its broad, upward trajectory Monday, adding on average about 6 cents. Particularly strong were Northeast points and Southern California. Northeast gains were expected to subside Tuesday, but California pricing is following strong power generation demand. At the close of futures trading August had gained 3.6 cents to $3.117 and September had put on 3.5 cents to $3.111. September crude oil tumbled $3.69 to $88.14/ bbl.

The North American drilling rig count should average 2,400 rigs in 2012, up 5% from a year ago, but it won’t take its traditional natural gas trajectory, Baker Hughes Inc. executives said last week. Operators are “drastically” shifting from gas targets, and Baker is seeing the beginnings of a “tidal wave” preparing to ride into the Permian Basin.

Weather-adjusted demand for natural gas in the United States has been on a downward trajectory over the past decade but the decline rate is small and residential and commercial consumption should continue to be a reliable core source of gas demand, according to research by Barclays Capital analysts.

Weather-adjusted demand for natural gas in the United States has been on a downward trajectory over the past decade but the decline rate is small and residential and commercial consumption should continue to be a reliable core source of gas demand, according to research by Barclays Capital analysts.

The “likely trajectory” of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports through 2011 essentially matches the “probable” growth in natural gas-fired power generation, energy analyst John Gerdes said in a recent report. The need, he wrote, to reduce industrial demand given the limited supply should underpin at least an $8/MMBtu average gas price after 2006.

The “likely trajectory” of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports through 2011 essentially matches the “probable” growth in natural gas-fired power generation, energy analyst John Gerdes said in a report issued this week. He said the need to reduce industrial demand given the limited supply should underpin at least an $8/MMBtu average gas price after 2006.