NGI Mexico GPI

Net U.S. natural gas exports through the first six months of 2019 more than doubled year-ago levels, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), showing the rapid transformation underway for a country that only became a net exporter in 2017.

A sustained drop in natural gas production and relatively stable weather outlooks were enough to propel Nymex futures higher on Wednesday despite expectations for upcoming government storage data to reflect a much larger-than-normal injection.

The sharp swings higher just keep coming for natural gas futures. With another solid shift to the colder side in the latest weather models, the November Nymex gas futures contract expired Tuesday some 15.1 cents higher at $2.597. December, which takes the prompt-month position on Wednesday, rose a more moderate 8.4 cents to $2.639.

If Mexico’s goal is to increase crude and natural gas production, unconventional exploration and development will be required to play a key part, according to a presentation last week by the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH).

Natural gas futures surged Monday as all weather models trended colder for the coming weekend and next week. Even with production hitting another new high, a strong cash market helped send the November Nymex contract up 14.6 cents to $2.446/MMBtu. December climbed 9.6 cents to $2.555.

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Natural gas prices in Mexico surpassed $3.00/MMBtu in September for the first time since May, tracking the movement of prices in the United States, according to the IPGN monthly natural gas price index published by the Comisión Reguladora de Energía (CRE).

Natural gas futures traders took the curve down a notch Friday as the latest weather data moved the needle slightly lower in terms of the overall demand picture for the next couple of weeks. The November Nymex contract settled 1.6 cents lower, and December slipped fractionally to $2.459.

Mexican state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) reported a net loss of 87.9 billion pesos ($4.6 billion) for the third quarter, down from a 26.8 billion-peso (about $1.38 billion at the time) profit in the same period a year ago.