NGI Mexico GPI

Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador told reporters on Monday that supply interruptions and long lines at filling stations in multiple states over the last few days were caused by enhanced security measures to prevent rampant fuel theft from the sprawling pipeline network of national oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex).

A natural gas futures market left waiting for convincing signs of a return to more impressive winter heating demand sold off Monday. In the spot market, recent weakness continued as forecasters noted comfortable conditions for much of the Lower 48 to start the work week; the NGI Spot Gas National Avg. slid 3.5 cents to $2.665/MMBtu.

Royal Dutch Shell plc joined the list of companies announcing big plans for Argentina with the decision to begin full-scale development at the Sierras Blancas, Cruz de Lorena and Coirón Amargo Sur Oeste blocks in the Vaca Muerta deposit in Neuquén province.

Despite a pledged 50% increase in natural gas output to 5.7 Bcf/d by 2024, the 2019 upstream budget of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) disproportionately prioritizes oil over gas, according to local experts.

The natural gas futures market managed to shake off a particularly bearish government storage report Friday as forecasts for a potential shift to colder temperatures later this month seemed to inspire some buying after recent declines.

Despite a pledged 50% increase in natural gas output to 5.7 Bcf/d by 2024, the 2019 upstream budget of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) disproportionately prioritizes oil over gas, according to local experts.

Forecasts showing overall mild conditions through mid-January continued to pressure natural gas futures lower Thursday as traders looked ahead to another potentially bearish government storage report. In the spot market, expectations for Lower 48 weather-driven demand to ease into next week accompanied declines across most regions; the NGI Spot Gas National Avg. slid 11.5 cents to $2.690/MMBtu.

Although Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has said relatively little about natural gas policy, he has made clear his opposition to the 2013 constitutional energy reform of his predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto.

A new year brought a new outlook for natural gas markets Wednesday, with a mild forecast for the first half of January bringing a return to sub-$3 prices as the storage concerns that drove up risk premiums earlier in the heating season appear largely assuaged. Influenced by sagging futures, spot markets struggled through a post-New Year’s hangover, though a few locations in the West gained ahead of cold temperatures and precipitation expected this weekend; the NGI Spot Gas National Avg. tumbled 26.5 cents to $2.915/MMBtu.