Truly

A coalition of environmental groups led by the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club has called on FERC to reject Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC’s (Transco) Leidy Southeast Expansion project, saying there is no homegrown demand for it.

There could be increased bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico in several energy sectors, including development of the Eagle Ford Shale south of the border, depending on developments in Mexico’s latest reform government, according to an expert on Mexican policy.

“The more people think things are going to stay the same, the more surprising it will be when they change,” might be an apt revision of an old proverb for today’s shale gas industry.

French producer Toreador Resources Corp. and ZaZa Energy LLC, a privately held oil and gas company based in Houston, have announced plans to merge in a cash and stock deal valued at approximately $294 million, creating a single company with significant shale holdings on two continents.

Based on the season’s first burst of truly robust heading load in many areas, which is expected to be short-lived, most points were able to rally Monday. The restoration of industrial demand following a weekend also contributed to the overall firmness, which occurred despite Friday’s 18-cent drop by October futures.

With more truly spring-like weather starting to supplant lingering vestiges of winter in sections of the North and the Rockies, most points were flat to down as much as about 80 cents Monday. Several locations, primarily in the California, Arizona/Nevada and Southwest basin areas, were higher.

In a compelling show of proof that it is truly a weather-driven market in winter, natural gas futures gapped higher and shot to new two-week highs Monday as traders returned from the weekend to learn that the rest of November would feature below-normal temperatures for the eastern half of the nation. The December contract finished at $4.263, up 28.2 cents for the session and just off its $4.28 high.

Gas suppliers and buyers got what they wanted north of the U.S. border and a truly competitive market in delivery services is at hand, TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. told the National Energy Board. TransCanada predicts that within five years, two-thirds of its long-distance capacity for 7.5 Bcf/d will be sold the same way as most of the gas in its lines, on short contracts. “The traditional regulatory compact,” which kept the system reliably full on long service contracts, “has been dismantled” by allowing rivals to build new capacity.

Natural-gas suppliers and buyers got what they wanted north of the U.S. border–a truly competitive market in delivery services is at hand, TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. has told the National Energy Board. TransCanada predicts that within five years, two-thirds of its long-distance capacity for 7.5 Bcf/d will be sold the same way as most of the gas in its lines, on short contracts. “The traditional regulatory compact,” which kept the system reliably full on long service contracts, “has been dismantled” by allowing rivals to build new capacity.