Watching

June natural gas futures eased slightly in an apparently lackluster trading session, but those watching the more deferred contracts swoon sensed a significant change in the market that may lead to lower prices.

Anyone watching North American natural gas prices might blanch at the thought of christening a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, but Spain’s Repsol forged ahead recently with the opening of its Canaport facility at Mispec Point, near Saint John, NB. Repsol Energy North America (RENA) President Phil Ribbeck noted that winter is coming and he expects cargo traffic to ramp up soon and into next year.

Anyone watching North American natural gas prices might blanch at the thought of christening a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, but Spain’s Repsol forged ahead recently with the opening of its Canaport facility at Mispec Point, near Saint John, NB. Repsol Energy North America (RENA) President Phil Ribbeck noted that winter is coming and he expects cargo traffic to ramp up soon and into next year.

Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Southern California is watching closely an ongoing test of two solar-natural gas air conditioning systems by Sempra Energy’s Los Angeles-based Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas). The gas utility is testing two similar systems at its Energy Resource Center in Downey, CA, as a means of accelerating their use among commercial customers, such as the Coca-Cola bottling plant.

New Mexico regulators will be watching closely from now through the early days of the new year to see if the conditioned approval they gave to PNM Resources sale of its natural gas utility business will avoid a request for rehearing or a challenge to the New Mexico Supreme Court.

New Mexico regulators will be watching closely from now through the early days of the new year to see if the conditioned approval they gave last Thursday to PNM Resources sale of its natural gas utility business will avoid a request for rehearing or a challenge to the New Mexico Supreme Court.

Watching the Wall Street credit meltdown and its aftermath, California regulators last Thursday expanded financing limits on the state’s two largest private-sector utilities — Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and Southern California Edison Co. (SCE).

Watching the Wall Street credit meltdown and its aftermath, California regulators Thursday expanded financing limits on the state’s two largest private-sector utilities — Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and Southern California Edison Co. (SCE).

The abundant information available about North American natural gas flows in the pipeline grid already has transformed the physical gas market, and its influence over the entire energy complex will only build in the coming year, two long-time industry experts assert.