weather

Reflecting heavy weather load in the Upper Plains and Upper Midwest, Northern Natural Gas declared a System Overrun Limitation for all market-area zones effective Thursday until further notice.

Florida Gas Transmission said it was having operational problems with pipe maintenance “due to extreme weather conditions,” and no receipts would be scheduled Wednesday at its Refugio, TX interconnect with the Matagorda Offshore Pipeline System, affecting about 102,000 MMBtu/d. MOPS operator Northern Natural Gas said its “current information is that it [Refugio flow] may not be back available” until Thursday.

The weather forecasters say Lilli, a category 4 when it went through the Gulf of Mexico production area, could rival Andrew, a category 5 hurricane in 1992 that devastated a wide swath of Florida before cutting across the Gulf, toppling 34 oil and gas platforms, leaving 28 leaning, and causing over a billion dollars in damage, not counting the loss of production revenue (see NGI’s storm chronicle — located under special reports on intelligencepress.com).

The weather forecasters say Lilli, a category 4 as of Wednesday evening, could rival Andrew, a category 5 hurricane in 1992 that devastated a wide swath of Florida before cutting across the Gulf of Mexico, toppling 34 oil and gas platforms, leaving 28 leaning, and causing over a billion dollars in damage, not counting the loss of production revenue (see NGI’s storm chronicle — located under special reports on intelligencepress.com).

Citing “inclement weather in the Gulf of Mexico,” Tennessee canceled the quarterly pigging of the Header and East Leg segments of the Blue Water System offshore Louisiana that had been Monday through Thursday this week (see Daily GPI, Sept. 6). The next quarterly pigging is scheduled for Nov. 11-14.

November is the month to watch for colder than normal weather, according to WSI Corp.’s beginning-of-September update to its three-month seasonal forecast. The Massachusetts-based forecaster noted that there will be temperature anomalies this month and into October, but they may have “limited impact” because temperature normals and load levels tend to be significantly lower than summer months.

The cash market largely ignored weakening weather fundamentals Friday and sent prices higher at most points. Only plunges in the Rockies and at Transco Zone 6-New York City ran contrary to the overall firmness.

Buoyed by hot weather and spiking Northeast physical prices, natural gas futures ended higher Tuesday, as commercial traders continued to favor the long side of the market. After touching the $3.00 mark Tuesday afternoon for the first time since Aug. 1, the September contract ebbed slightly to close at $2.975, a 1-cent increase for the session. With 102,854 contracts changing hands, Tuesday’s heavy volume in the gas pit lent credibility to the up-move.

Very hot weather along the East Coast and in the South and much of the West kept prices moving higher at nearly all points Tuesday. Transco Zone 6-NYC soared again, this time by 80 cents, and peaked at $6.