Thursday, 30 June 2011
Canadian Natural Gas Rises on Tighter Supply and Warm U.S. West
Canadian natural gas for rose for a second day on tighter supplies and forecasts of higher cooling demand in the U.S. West that would spur the need for the fuel to power air-conditioners.
Alberta gas for August delivery increased 0.25 cent to C$3.57 per gigajoule ($3.55 per million British thermal units) as of 3:10 p.m. New York time, according to NGX, a Canadian Internet market. July gas fell 1 cent to C$3.58. Gas traded on the exchange goes to users in Canada and the U.S. and is priced on TransCanada Corp.’s Alberta system.
Natural gas for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 5.9 cents to settle at $4.374 per million Btu.
“It’s probably a little bit tighter supply in the province at the moment because of field maintenance, and maybe there’s a little bit of fiscal short covering by traders, going into our long weekend,” Martin King, an analyst at FirstEnergy Capital Corp. in Calgary, said in a telephone interview.
Cooling demand in Los Angeles will be 48 percent above normal until at least July 7, according to Belton, Missouri- based forecaster Weather Derivatives. Power plants use 30 percent of U.S. gas supplies, according to the Energy Department.
Much of the West will have above-normal temperatures from July 4 to July 8, MDA EarthSat Weather of Gaithersburg, Maryland, said in a forecast to clients.
California Temperatures
The high in Los Angeles on July 4 may reach 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 Celsius), 5 above normal, according to AccuWeather Inc. of State College, Pennsylvania.
Volume on TransCanada’s Alberta system, which collects the output of most of the nation’s gas wells, was 15.64 billion cubic feet as of 3 p.m. in New York.
Gas was flowing at a daily rate of 2.8 billion cubic feet at Empress, Alberta, where the fuel is transferred to TransCanada’s main line.
At McNeil, Saskatchewan, where gas is transferred to the Northern Border Pipeline for shipment to the Chicago area, the daily flow rate was 1.94 billion cubic feet.
Available capacity on TransCanada’s British Columbia system at Kingsgate was 1.09 billion cubic feet. The system was forecast to carry 1.82 billion cubic feet today, about 63 percent of its capacity of 2.9 billion.
Gas at the Alliance Pipeline delivery point near Chicago fell 14.44 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $4.3347 per million Btu on the Intercontinental Exchange. Alliance is an express line that can carry 1.5 billion cubic feet a day to the Midwest from western Canada.
At the Kingsgate point on the border of Idaho and British Columbia, gas fell 11.89 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $4.0972.
China Natural Gas gets buyout offer; shares jump
* Deal values co at $91.2 mln
* Each shareholder to get $4.25
* Shares up as much as 13 pct (Adds share movement, background)
June 30 (Reuters) - China Natural Gas Inc said a group backed by Themes Investment Partners will take it private, in a deal valuing the distributor of compressed natural gas at $91.2 million, sending its shares up as much as 13 percent.
Each shareholder of the Chinese company will get $4.25 per share in cash, a 23 percent premium over the company's Wednesday's close onNasdaq, China Natural Gas Chief Executive Qinan Ji said in a statement.
Themes Investment Partners is a China-focused private equity firm.
Shares of the company, were up more than 6 percent at $3.68 on Thursday. They had been halted earlier in the session. The stock has lost about 37 percent in the last six months.
China Natural Gas, which appointed a new chief financial officer in December, has a market capitalisation of $74.2 million and long-term debt of $42.6 million, according to Reuters data.
The company, which provides natural gas for industrial, commercial and residential use, claims to own and operates a 120-kilometer-long compressed gas pipeline in Xi'an, China.
(Reporting byVaishnavi Bala in Bangalore; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/30/chinanaturalgas-idUSL3E7HU34T20110630U.S. Natural Gas Shipments Fall on Lower Cooling Demand in West
Scheduled natural gas deliveries to U.S. electricity generators fell for the first time in four days on forecasts of lower cooling demand in the West, decreasing the need for fuel to power air-conditioners.
A sample of scheduled deliveries to power plants in the U.S. and Canada shows shipments fell 8.7 percent to 18.3 million dekatherms (17.9 billion cubic feet), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Shipments to power generators in California dropped 20 percent.
Cooling demand in San Francisco will be non-existent and 3 percent of normal in Seattle until at least July 6, said Belton, Missouri-based forecaster Weather Derivatives. Power plants use 30 percent of U.S. gas supplies, according to the Energy Department.
Much of the West will have normal temperatures until July 3, and Midwestern temperatures will cool to normal from above- normal July 4-8, MDA EarthSat Weather of Gaithersburg, Maryland, said in a note to clients.
The high in Los Angeles today may reach 76 degrees Fahrenheit (24 Celsius), 6 below normal, according to AccuWeather Inc. of State College, Pennsylvania.
Scheduled gas shipments for U.S. residences fell 4.5 percent to 22.9 million dekatherms after a 14 percent drop yesterday.
Wholesale gas at the SoCal Border hub, where gas is delivered to the Southern California Gas Co., gained 2.03 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $4.4378 per million British thermal units yesterday on the Intercontinental Exchange.
Gas at the Henry Hub in Erath, Louisiana, the delivery point for futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gained 9.09 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $4.3411 per million Btu.
Source:
Russia's Gazprom to boost exports to Europe
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's Gazprom state-controlled natural gas giant says it plans to boost exports to Europe this year and set a new record high in export earnings.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told Thursday's annual shareholders' meeting that the company expects to export 155-158 billion cubic meters of gas to customers in Europe this year compared to last year's 139 billion.
Miller said the company will also seek to expand the sales of liquefied natural gas to China, Japan and South Korea.
Gazprom currently accounts for 15 percent of the world's natural gas output and 18 percent of globalnatural gas reserves.
Miller said that the company's reserves currently stand at 33.1 billion cubic meters of gas.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russias-gazprom-boost-exports-europe-075750091.html
Natural gas futures decline as weather forecasts moderate
Forexpros - Natural gas futures down for the first time in four days on Wednesday, pulling back from a one-week high on forecasts of moderating temperatures that would reduce demand for the fuel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for August delivery traded at USD4.311 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, slumping 1.2%.
It earlier fell as much as 1.8% to trade at a daily low of USD4.282 per million British thermal units. Natural gas prices rose to a one-week high of USD4.377 on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, industry weather group MDA Federal said that it now expected mostly normal temperatures across the continental U.S. from July 5 to July 9.
The weather forecaster had previously called for "unseasonably" hot temperatures in the U.S. Great Lakes and mid-Atlantic region next week.
Meanwhile, the Commodity Weather Group said that July was likely to be warmer than previously thought, though not as hot as last summer, when above-average heat lifted demand for gas to power air conditioners to almost record levels.
In its seasonal outlook published earlier in the day, the weather group said, "Our updated July outlook in the past two weeks is still nowhere near as cool as the original expectation, but it does continue to shed cooling degree days, and it is quite a bit cooler than July 2010."
Natural gas traders monitor weather forecasts to determine whether temperatures may boost heating or cooling demand. Predictions of below-average or above-average temperatures may prompt traders to buy or sell gas futures.
Markets were looking forward to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly report on U.S. natural gas stockpiles for the week ended June 24 on Thursday.
The report was expected to show that U.S. natural gas inventories increased by 80 billion cubic feet, after adding 98 billion cubic feet in the preceding week.
Elsewhere, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in August jumped 1.6% to trade at USD94.31 a barrel, while heating oil for August delivery rallied 2.3% to trade at USD2.901 per gallon during U.S. morning trade.
Read more: http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2011-06/natural-gas-futures-decline-as-weather-forecasts-moderate.aspx?storyid=83075#ixzz1Qlq717wC
Monday, 30 May 2011
Medvedev insists Ukraine pay price agreed for Russian natural gas
Moscow - President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday rejected calls from Ukraine for a cut in the price of natural gas imported from Russia, insisting that 'signed agreements need to be respected.'
During a meeting with Gazpromchairman Aleksei Miller, Medvedev said: 'The price as it is is absolutely fair.' He stressed that gas revenues were crucial for Russia.
Ukraine has argued that falling international gas prices and soaring profits for the state-controlled gas producer should lead to a revision in the price paid by Ukraine, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas.
Miller said Gazprom could expect record income this year on the strength of a 27-per-cent rise in gas exports for the first five months of 2011, as compared with 2010.
Rising European consumption and instability in some Middle Eastern gas-producing nations were the main drivers of rising demand for Gazprom product, Miller said in comments reported by Interfax.
Gazprom's top strategic goal was increasing delivery capacity to major consumers, he said, with a Baltic Sea pipeline to Germany and a Sea of Okhotsk pipeline aimed at the Japanese market the company's highest-priority projects.
Medvedev said Gazprom's continued strong revenues were critical for the Russian government and advised Miller to discuss price cuts with Kiev only if this were beneficial for Russia.
'Any changes need to be part of a wider agreement,' he said.
Since December, Ukraine has repeatedly called for a reduction in the price paid for gas, pointing to alleged economic damage caused to Ukrainian manufacturers producing mainly for the Russian economy.
In April 2010, Ukraine negotiated a favourable rate of 234 dollars per thousand cubic metres in exchange for a 25-year lease extension for the Russian navy to use to port facilities in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.
That price in the face of a weakening regional economy is now too high, Kiev officials have said.
Russian officials have said the price is reasonable, but that they would be willing to consider a reduction were Ukraine to agree to turn over ownership of its natural gastransportation network to Gazprom.
Gazprom is Russia's largest company. Disputes between Gazprom and Ukraine over gas pricing sparked a halt to supplies of Russian natural gas to Europe during January 2010.
Malaysia ups power, natural gas prices
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia May 30 (Reuters) - Malaysia said on Monday it will raise electricity prices by an average 7.12 percent from June 1 in an effort to cut down on subsidies.
Officials said natural gas prices would also rise by 3.0 ringgit (about $1.0) per mmBtu each six months until it reached market levels.
Power prices would rise by as much as 2.3 sen per kilowatt hour.
The price charged by state oil company Petronas for power generation would rise to 13.7 ringgit per mmBtu from 10.7 ringgit, they said.
Source: http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFKLA00255320110530
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Natural Gas Weekly Fundamental Analysis for May 23-27, 2011
Last week, natural gas prices extended their drop for a third consecutive week, where expectations of falling demand amid moderating weather conditions in Eastern and Southern of the United States, which will reduce demand for power-fuel, in addition to rising stockpiles of natural gas pressured natural gas prices to fall heavily, as the EIA report for natural gas inventories showed stockpiles rose the most since September 2010, although natural gas prices rebounded last Friday on expectations of above than normal weather conditions in Eastern of the United States.
Weather conditions over the upcoming period in addition to natural gas stockpiles will be the major movers for natural gas prices, but given the recent speculations, we should expect natural gas prices to rise back during this upcoming week, but another strong rise in natural gas inventories will surely send prices tumbling to the ground.
Highlights for this week that will probably affect the Natural Gas direction are:
Thursday, 14:30, The EIA will release the weekly natural gas storage change for the week ending May 20, where the prior report showed that natural gas inventories inclined by 92 billion cubic feet.
Natural Gas Technical Analysis for the Week of May 23, 2011
The natural gas markets had an absolutely volatile session this week, and on Friday managed to wipe out the losses suffered earlier in the week. The market in general looks very range bound, and the patient trader can make serious money as long as this range holds up. The $4 mark seems to be the floor, while the $4.60 area is the ceiling. If you are patient enough to wait for these areas to be tested, you could do quite nicely, and who knows for how long?
Natural Gas Daily Fundamental Analysis for May 23, 2011
Natural gas prices rebounded on Friday, after falling heavily on Thursday due to the EIA report for natural gas inventories, which showed the biggest rise since September 2010, where the EIA report showed natural gas inventories increased by 92 billion cubic feet.
Nonetheless, natural gas prices rebounded on Friday amid speculations of a heat wave that will hit Eastern of the United States, which led to expectations of rising demand on power fuel, and accordingly, natural gas prices rose.
Based on expectations of higher than average temperatures, we should expect natural gas prices to rise on Monday, although rising supply of natural gas in general could still weigh down on prices over the short term.
Saturday, 21 May 2011
Natural Gas Futures Gain Most in Three Weeks on Second Weekly Rig Decline
Natural gas futures advanced the most in three weeks as data showed the number of U.S. gas drilling rigs fell for a second consecutive week.
Gas gained 3.3 percent after Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. said the rig total declined 8 to 866 this week, the lowest level since the week ended Jan. 29, 2010. Prices also rose after gas settled near a six-week low yesterday, spurring buying from traders betting that the market had hit a bottom for now.
“It’s the second drop in a row and it is what the bulls are looking for,” said Carl Neill, an energy consultant at Risk Management Inc. in Atlanta. “It seems prices are at the bottom of the range.”
Natural gas for June delivery rose 13.6 cents to settle at $4.23 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest percentage gain since April 28. The futures fell 0.4 percent this week.
“The market seems to be thinking that we might have done enough this week with selling off,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago. “We’re kind of getting a dead cat bounce.”
Gas stockpiles gained 92 billion cubic feet in the week ended May 13 to 1.919 trillion cubic feet, the Energy Department said yesterday. The five-year average change for the week is an increase of 91 billion cubic feet, department data show. Inventories rose 78 billion cubic feet a year earlier.
Storage levels were down 11 percent from a year earlier, narrowing from 12 percent in the previous week, department data showed. Stockpiles were 1.8 percent below the five-year average last week compared with 2 percent the previous week.
Temperatures may be normal or above-normal across most of the continental U.S. from May 25 through May 29, according to WSI Corp. in Andover, Massachusetts. Warmer-than-normal weather is likely along the Eastern Seaboard.
Texas Weather
The high in Dallas on May 28 may be 92 degrees Fahrenheit (28 Celsius), 5 degrees above normal, according to AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania. The high in Chicago may be 64, 12 below normal.
Cooling demand in the south-central U.S. may be 12 percent below normal from May 26 through May 30, David Salmon, a meteorologist with Weather Derivatives in Belton, Missouri, said in a note to clients today.
Power plants use about 30 percent of the nation’s gas supplies, according to the Energy Department.
Pipeline Shipments
Natural gas shipments to U.S. power plants were set to increase for a fifth day as hotter-than-normal weather in the South boosts demand for gas-fired electricity.
A sample of scheduled gas shipments for U.S. electricity generation gained 3.6 percent to 13.5 million dekatherms (13.1 billion cubic feet) from yesterday’s 13 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of 3:46 p.m. in New York.
Gas deliveries to Florida power plants advanced 6.1 percent to 2.72 million dekatherms.
Gas futures volume in electronic trading on the Nymex was 235,934 as of 2:44 p.m., compared with the three-month average of 306,000. Volume was 315,365 yesterday. Open interest was 947,797 contracts. The three-month average open interest is 945,000.
The exchange has a one-business-day delay in reporting open interest and full volume data.
Natural gas drilling informational events set
Staff Report
Three programs this week will offer information about natural gas drilling to area residents.
On Tuesday, an informational meeting about gas drilling and it's impact on our community will be held at the Worcester Women's Club Meeting Room 168 Main St. in Worcester from 7 to 9 p.m. The speakers scheduled are Dr. Ron Bishop, Lou Allstadt and Michelle Kennedy.
Chenango Community Action For Renewable Energy (C-CARE)'s series of public forums will continue at 7 p.m. Thursday at the United Church of Christ at 11 W. Main St. in Norwich. The program will give advice to property owners, leaseholders and their neighbors about issues that have come up, such as terminating a lease, force majeure and compulsory integration.
Forum presenters will be Ellen Harrison, geologist and environmental scientist from Ithaca; and founder of "Fleased," an organization providing voice to landowners, and lawyer Joseph Heath, general council for the Onondaga Nation, whose work has focused on environmental protection under the Clean Water Act and land rights.
The public is asked to park on the street, in the Hayes Street or county office building parking lots, and not in the church lot in back. For more information, call Chris at 334-6095 or e-mail Ken atccare@frontier.com.
Also Thursday, the Otsego Proactive Network will present an information session at the Westford Town Hall. The program will address the economic potential of gas development, featuring presentations by Carolyn and Aaron Price.
The Prices' company, Red Dragon Inc., produced the 2010 documentary film "Gas Odyssey."
Source: http://thedailystar.com/localnews/x57646434/Natural-gas-drilling-informational-events-set
Natural Gas Bounce Back From Six-Week Lows
HOUSTON—Natural-gas futures erased Thursday's sharp losses, rising more than 3% as buyers re-entered a market at prices that had fallen to their lowest level in almost six weeks.
Natural gas for June delivery settled up 13.6 cents, or 3.3%, at $4.23 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The benchmark contract shed 10.4 cents Thursday after the Energy Information Administration reported the largest injection of gas into U.S. storage so far this year, narrowing the deficit between current and typical storage levels for the first time in two months.
That stoked a selloff that had already been underway most of the week, said Matt Smith, an analyst with Summit Energy in Louisville, Ky.
"Now we are seeing some position-taking and some buying interest coming into the market before the weekend, at a price level at what has been a favorable entry point in recent months," Mr. Smith said.
Friday's buying was bolstered by forecasts for warmer-than-normal weather in the eastern U.S. during the next two weeks—potentially lifting demand for gas-fired electricity to power air conditioners—and a declining number of drilling rigs aiming for natural gas.
"Next week should be the warmest of the season so far for the East Coast cities as temperatures persistently reach the 80s," said meteorologists with private forecaster Commodity Weather Group. "Combined with moderate humidity levels, it could feel like the 90s at times."
Meanwhile, Baker Hughes said that as of last Friday the number of rigs drilling for gas fell by eight from the week before to 866—the lowest level since January 2010. The oilfield-services firm, however, said the number of oil rigs grew by seven to 954, which could mute the impact of the gas-rig reduction since most oil wells also yield a significant amount of methane.
Traders watch the rig count closely for signs that producers are pulling back to limit supply growth.
Still, some are skeptical that prices will push higher, noting that the benchmark contract has ended up at nearly the same price the last two weeks.
"Despite the lively buying by the bulls this morning, this still appears to be a another week of range trading," Pax Saunders, an analyst with Gelber & Associates in Houston, wrote in a note to clients.
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704816604576335151470837450.html
Canadian Natural Gas Prices Climb as Price Drop Prompts Buying
Canadian natural gas for June delivery rose for the first day in five as traders sought bargains and covered bets on earlier declines.
Gas at Canada’s benchmark AECO C hub in Alberta had slipped 6.2 percent since May 16, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The prospect that prices may have hit bottom probably has some traders covering short positions, or bets on price declines, said Martin King, senior commodities analyst at FirstEnergy Capital Corp. in Calgary.
“They couldn’t push it any further to the downside” without hitting technical resistance, King said. “It’s been moving back and forth in a range.”
Alberta gas for June delivery rose 9 cents, or 2.6 percent, to C$3.56 per gigajoule ($3.48 per million British thermal units) as of 2:30 p.m. New York time, according to NGX, a Canadian Internet market. Gas traded on the exchange goes to users in Canada and the U.S. and is priced on TransCanada Corp.’s Alberta system.
Natural gas for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 13.6 cents, or 3.3 percent, to settle at $4.23 per million Btu.
Spot Prices Fall
Gas for prompt delivery tumbled as cool weather forecast for the U.S. Midwest pares air-conditioner use. Chicago will have a high of 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 Celsius), about 15 degrees colder than normal, according to State College, Pennsylvania-based forecaster AccuWeather Inc.
Gas at the Alliance Pipeline delivery point near Chicago fell 11.73 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $4.1042 per million Btu on the Intercontinental Exchange. Alliance is an express line that can carry 1.5 billion cubic feet a day to the Midwest from western Canada.
At the Kingsgate point on the border of Idaho and British Columbia, gas slipped 14.46 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $3.8253 per million Btu, according to ICE. At Malin, Oregon, where Canadian gas is traded for California markets, gas was down 15.51 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $3.9416.
Alberta System
Volume on TransCanada’s Alberta system, which collects the output of most of the nation’s gas wells, was 16.2 billion cubic feet as of 2 p.m. in New York, 51 million above its target level. Some Alberta producers have been forced to shut gas wells because of forest fires in the northern portion of the province.
Gas was flowing at a daily rate of 2.74 billion cubic feet at Empress, Alberta, where the fuel is transferred to TransCanada’s main line.
At McNeil, Saskatchewan, where gas is transferred to the Northern Border Pipeline for shipment to the Chicago area, the daily flow rate was 1.59 billion cubic feet.
Available capacity on TransCanada’s British Columbia system at Kingsgate was 506 million cubic feet. The system was forecast to carry 1.48 billion cubic feet today, about 75 percent of its capacity of 1.98 billion.
The volume on Spectra Energy’s British Columbia system, which gathers the fuel in northeastern British Columbia for delivery to Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest, totaled 2.87 billion cubic feet at 1:50 p.m.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Natural Gas Daily Fundamental Analysis for May 18, 2011
Natural gas prices dropped on Tuesday as weather forecasts signaled temperatures will be below the average for this time of the year in several parts of the United States including the South and East, which raised speculations of lower demand on power plant fuel, and accordingly, natural gas prices dropped.
Natural gas prices should continue to fall on Wednesday, as speculations of moderate weather conditions should continue to push natural gas prices lower.
