Zero

Due to unplanned maintenance on the 20-inch diameter Peace River Mainline, NOVA said it was taking all meter stations in the Upper Peace River Mainline Area to zero at noon MST last Friday until further notice. The work is expected to be completed by Dec. 8.

The energy industry’s race to keep up with the global demand for natural gas is “as tight a race as the U.S. presidential campaign,” but it’s not a “zero-sum game with only one winner. This is a race all of us must win,” a Royal Dutch Shell plc executive said last week.

Prices continued to fall at most points Wednesday in spite of Thursday lows continuing to reach single digits or around zero in upper New England and much of the Midwest. Ongoing substitution of storage use for spot gas purchases, major prior-day screen weakness and looking ahead to weekend warming trends were the chief reasons for the cash market to keep softening in the face of what appears to be substantial fundamental weather demand.

Citing forecasts of sub-zero temperatures in its service area, Northern Natural Gas declared a System Overrun Limitation (SOL) for Tuesday and Wednesday in all market-area zones (ABC, D and E/F). The SOL will be lifted at the start of Thursday’s gas day.

With 80% of its production tied to natural gas, EnCana Corp. is turning its back on Alberta and instead will zero in on its burgeoning gas plays in Wyoming and Texas with an eye to build its North American gas output by 7% in 2008. The Calgary-based producer also plans to advance its Deep Panuke gas project offshore Nova Scotia.

With 80% of its production tied to natural gas, EnCana Corp. said Wednesday it will turn its back on Alberta and instead zero in on its burgeoning gas plays in Wyoming and Texas with an eye to build its gas output in North America by 7% in 2008. EnCana also said it plans to advance its Deep Panuke gas project offshore Nova Scotia.

With Friday’s predicted lows ranging from sub-zero to the teens and 20s from the Rocky Mountains through the Plains and Midwest into much of the inland Northeast, the surge of heating load was able to rally prices at a solid majority of points Thursday. Cash gas got a small extra boost from the prior-day advance of 3 cents by January futures, which ended a six-session losing streak for the Nymex contract.

Canadian natural gas exports are poised for a steady decline to zero over the next quarter-century if current market conditions persist, according to a new long-range forecast by the National Energy Board (NEB).

Canadian natural gas exports are poised for a steady decline to zero over the next quarter-century if current market conditions persist, according to a new long-range forecast by the National Energy Board (NEB).