Widely

Responding to what it said is a rising tide of requests for information about climate change from “individuals and decision makers across widely diverse sectors,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is creating a climate service office dedicated to bringing together NOAA’s climate science and service delivery capabilities, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said Monday.

The timely and widely available information on natural gas physical and financial transactions puts the gas market ahead of other commodities in transparency and efficiency, according to a study by research scholar and author William P. Albrecht. The study, publicized by the Natural Gas Supply Association, finds that the information available to the natural gas market “has grown to a level that is unrivaled by other commodities. The system of index price formation and discovery is unique to the U.S. natural gas market and contributes substantially to price transparency and competitive pricing.” In the physical market the regular surveys of prices at dozens of locations conducted by independent publishers follow guidelines established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Voluntary participants in the survey “follow equally rigorous FERC-established procedures for the reporting of this data. The integrity of this structure has been well established for over five years and pricing information is available within the market for more than 25 Bcf/d, an amount equal in size to one-third to one-half of total U.S. natural gas consumption,” Albrecht said. In the financial market, the Nymex and IntercontinentalExchange electronic platforms provide real time transparency for futures, options and a large number of swaps.

The timely and widely available information on natural gas physical and financial transactions puts the gas market ahead of other commodities in transparency and efficiency, according to a study by research scholar and author William P. Albrecht.

A series of earthquakes along the central Gulf of California coast of Baja California Monday through Wednesday were felt widely in Mexico and the western United States, but San Diego-based Sempra Energy reported that the quakes had no impact on its Costa Azul liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal or connecting transmission pipelines, which cut across the northern-most stretch of North Baja.

The widely held belief of the last few years that natural gas would be transitioning to a crude oil-like global market in the near future appears to be overstated, if a new report from Goldman Sachs analysts holds up. Higher than expected U.S. production levels will likely prolong the “winter disconnect” between U.S. and international natural gas prices through, and possibly beyond 2009, according to Goldman Sachs analysts Samantha Dart and Jefferey Curry.

The widely held belief of the last few years that natural gas would be transitioning to a crude oil-like global market in the near future appears to be overstated, if a new report from Goldman Sachs analysts holds up. Higher than expected U.S. production levels will likely prolong the “winter disconnect” between U.S. and international natural gas prices through, and possibly beyond 2009, according to Goldman Sachs analysts Samantha Dart and Jefferey Curry.

The views of northwestern utility regulators can differ widely on topics such as climate change, renewable energy, natural gas policy and the development of new nuclear power generation, as revealed by remarks heard Jan. 14 at an industry conference in Seattle.

The views of northwestern utility regulators can differ widely on topics such as climate change, renewable energy, natural gas policy and the development of new nuclear power generation, as revealed by remarks heard Monday at an industry conference.

California’s widely heralded plans a few years back to create a “Hydrogen Highway” by developing 100 fueling stations along the 400-mile stretch between Los Angeles and San Francisco by 2010 has hit some roadblocks as two stations have closed and planned facilities are being canceled. The latest was dropped by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E).