NGI Mexico GPI

The April Nymex natural gas futures contract made a splash on its first day at the front of the curve. The prompt month cannon-balled on more major revisions to weather forecasts, shedding some 8.5 cents on Thursday to settle at $1.752/MMBtu. May dropped 8.0 cents to $1.800.

Editor’s Note: NGI’s Mexico Gas Price Index, a leader tracking Mexico’s natural gas market reform, is offering the following question-and-answer (Q&A) column as part of a regular interview series with experts in the Mexican natural gas market.

With brief snaps of cold air expected to continue popping up across the United States into the early part of next month, natural gas bulls took the cue to lift the expiring March Nymex gas futures contract to a $1.880/MMBtu intraday high before aggressive selling into the close pushed the contract down to $1.821, off 2.6 cents day/day. April, which takes over the prompt-month position on Thursday, fell 1.4 cents to $1.837.

Mexico’s state oil and gas giant Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) was able to stabilize quarterly oil production in the fourth quarter at 1.69 million b/d, but 2019 production fell 7% on a year/year comparison to 1.68 million b/d, the company said in its fourth quarter earnings report.

As oil prices sunk below $50/bbl and stock markets took another nosedive, natural gas futures traders took a breather on Tuesday. With little change to the overall weather picture, the March Nymex gas futures contract closed a rather quiet session at $1.847/MMBtu, up 2.0 cents day/day. April climbed eight-tenths of a cent to $1.851.

U.S. firm New Fortress Energy (NFE) is advancing construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving and regasification terminal in the port of Pichilingue, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

After taking a few steps back last week, natural gas futures moved more convincingly lower on Monday following further warming in the latest weather models. The March Nymex gas futures contract settled at $1.827/MMBtu, down 7.8 cents from Friday’s close. April dropped 7.4 cents to $1.843.

First, the poster boy of Mexico’s energy reform, Emilio Lozoya, was arrested in Spain where he is now awaiting extradition. Then the Wall Street Journal reported that the architect of the reform, former President Enrique Peña, is likely to be investigated by Mexico judicial authorities, which could make him the first Mexican president in a century to face such inquiries.

Natural gas futures continued to slide Friday on further warmer trends in the latest weather models, crushing any hopes that bulls had for a return to $2 gas. The March Nymex gas futures contract settled at $1.905/MMBtu, down 1.5 cents from Thursday’s close. April slipped 1.4 cents to $1.917.