weather

Dolly was promoted from a tropical storm to a full-fledged hurricane late Tuesday afternoon and precautionary measures — including shut-ins — continued during the day at exploration and production infrastructure off the lower Texas coast. But the markets were affirming a general belief that barring an unlikely turn to the north, the storm will have minimal impact on offshore operations. Cash gas fell at all points, accompanied by a futures plunge.

More than enough natural gas is surging through pipelines and into storage today and barring any weather disruptions, prices should “significantly come down by the end of the year and stay down,” the CEO of Bentek Energy LLC said Friday. However, the gas supply/demand picture remains a “vicious cycle,” and another price spike will surely follow — and sooner than some might think.

Natural gas prices of $10/MMBtu or higher in the last half of 2008 appear justified, given the colder-than-normal weather last winter, a hotter-than-normal early summer and significantly weaker imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Canadian gas, an energy analyst said last week.

More than enough natural gas is surging through pipelines and into storage today and barring any weather disruptions, prices should “significantly come down by the end of the year and stay down,” the CEO of Bentek Energy LLC said Friday. However, the gas supply/demand picture remains a “vicious cycle,” and another price spike will surely follow — and sooner than some might think.

Natural gas prices of $10/MMBtu or higher in the last half of 2008 appear justified, given the colder-than-normal weather last winter, a hotter-than-normal early summer and significantly weaker imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Canadian gas, an energy analyst said Monday.

Citing lower linepack and Florida forecasts of 90-degree weather, Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) issued an Overage Alert Day for market-area customers Wednesday. The tolerance for negative daily imbalances was set at 20%. FGT said it would not interrupt previously scheduled market-area ITS-1 service for Wednesday’s gas day “below the elapsed prorated scheduled quantity.”

Continued declines were dominant in mixed price movement Monday as weather-based load was fairly light in most areas. Heat levels remained high in much of the West but were declining in inland California from pre-weekend highs. Rockies Express Pipeline (REX) helped boost Rockies numbers by officially scheduling deliveries to Panhandle Eastern in Missouri for Tuesday.

Noting forecasts of 90-degree weather in Florida, Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) issued an Overage Alert Day for market-area customers Monday. The tolerance for negative daily imbalances was set at 25%. FGT said it would not interrupt previously scheduled market-area ITS-1 service for Monday below the elapsed prorated scheduled quantity.

Southern Natural Gas reported Thursday that inclement weather was delaying its investigation of a possible leak in its 14-inch diameter Main Pass 107 line offshore Louisiana upstream of the Toca Compressor Station. Based on the latest forecast it will be Sunday or Monday at the earliest before the investigation can start, Southern said. It declared a force majeure and said the Main Pass 108 and Main Pass 118-Hunt Petroleum (AEC) points have been shut in until further notice.