LNG Falls Faster Than Oil as U.S. Fracking Spurs Glut Growth
Spare a thought for anyone who bet on a recovery in liquefied natural gas prices after last year’s 45 percent plunge. LNG to northeast Asia, home to the world’s biggest Continue Reading
U.S. lower 48 natgas output up to record high in September: EIA
U.S. natural gas output in the lower 48 states climbed to an all-time high of 83.9 billion cubic feet per day in September from a revised 83.5 bcfd in August, Continue Reading
Analysts See 4-Billion-Cubic-Feet Rise in U.S. Natural Gas Inventories
Analysts and traders expect government data scheduled for release Wednesday to show natural gas inventories rose by more than typical levels for this time of year. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is expected to report that 4 billion cubic feet of gas were added to storage during the week ended Nov. 20, according to the average forecast of 18 analysts and traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The EIA is scheduled to release its storage data for the week on Wednesday at noon ET. For the Nov. 20 week, the median estimate is for a rise of 4 bcf. Estimates range from an fall of 5 bcf to a rise of 10 bcf. The estimate for Nov. 20 is above last year’s 141-bcf withdrawal from in storage for the same week, and more than the 36-bcf five-year average draw for that week. If the storage estimate is correct, […]
Alaska Buys Out TransCanada Stake in LNG Project
Alaska paid $64.6 million to buy TransCanada Corp. TRP 1.24 % ’s stake in a proposed project to ship natural gas by pipeline from the state’s North Slope to an export terminal on the coast. The move, which was authorized by legislation passed by the state earlier this month, gives Alaska direct ownership in the project, along with partners BP BP 1.66 % PLC, ConocoPhillips COP 3.83 % and Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM 1.99 % It comes at a time when the outlook for demand for liquefied natural gas is uncertain amid a supply glut that has depressed once lofty spot market prices for the fuel. “By gaining an equal seat at the negotiating table, we are taking control of our destiny and making significant progress in our effort to deliver Alaska gas to the global market,” Alaska Gov. Bill Walker said in a statement Tuesday. The project, known […]
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo rejects proposed gas terminal off coast
LONG BEACH, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo has rejected a proposal to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in the waters off New York and New Jersey, effectively killing the project amid an outcry from residents of some coastal communities that it could endanger the environment and be a target for terrorists. The deep-water docking station known as Port Ambrose was to be built 19 miles off Jones Beach on Long Island and 29 miles off Long Brach, New Jersey. Liberty Natural Gas LLC, the company vying to develop Port Ambrose, said the port would allow it to inject natural gas into the New York-area pipeline, which could lower home heating bills there, among the most expensive in the nation. The company had been trying for years to obtain approval from the federal Maritime Administration to operate the facility. But federal regulations require the governors of the neighboring […]
China, Mideast Gas Use to Overtake Europe by 2035
China and the Middle East, spurred by lower prices and ample supply, will drive global natural gas demand growth in the next 25 years as consumption in Europe fails to recover to peak levels seen in 2010, according to the International Energy Agency. Both regions will become larger gas users than Europe by 2035, the Paris-based IEA said in its World Energy Outlook 2015. Global demand for gas, a cleaner-burning fuel for power generation than coal, will rise 1.4 percent a year to 5.16 trillion cubic meters (182 trillion cubic feet) in 2040, making it the fastest-growing fossil fuel. The agency forecast 1.6 percent annual growth to 5.38 trillion cubic meters in last year’s World Energy Outlook. “With gas prices already low in North America, and dragged lower elsewhere by ample supply and contractual linkages to oil prices, there is plenty of competitively priced gas seeking buyers in the […]
LNG tanker steams toward U.S. Sabine Pass for inaugural loading
Cheniere Energy’s landmark Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas export plant in Louisiana will receive its first tanker for loading on Jan. 12, according to ship tracking data and a source with knowledge of the plant’s operations. The Energy Atlantic LNG tanker, which was last seen on Thomson Reuters ship tracking data on Monday steaming west across the Indian Ocean, is the first in a string of test cargoes that will be loaded before commercial operations begin later in the year. The expected arrival of the tanker to Sabine Pass was confirmed by a source and by IHS Waterborne consultants that track LNG shipments globally. It marks a milestone for the long-awaited project, the first of its kind to be built in the United States in nearly 50 years, and for the U.S. gas market that has been swamped with new supply in recent years due to a domestic drilling […]
Why does firewood cost so much? Fracking’s part of it
Firewood on the front porch of Terri and Bob Tomchak’s home in Bridgton, Maine on Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. FACEBOOK TWITTER GOOGLE+ LINKEDIN PRINT E-MAIL Text Size: A | A CONCORD, N.H. — Northeasterners who are digging deeper into their pockets to pay for firewood this season can add a new scapegoat to the roster of usual market forces: fracking. Yep, a timber industry representative in New Hampshire said those hydraulic fracturing well sites in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale formation to suck natural gas out of the ground are using construction "mats" made of hardwood logs — think of the corduroy roads seen in sepia-toned photographs from the 1800s — to get heavy equipment over mucky ground, wetlands or soft soils. That increased demand has crept down the chimney into fireplaces. Prices in parts of New England are averaging $325 a cord and can even push past $400 for a […]
Working natural gas in storage matches record level
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report Working natural gas in storage reached 3,929 billion cubic feet (Bcf) as of October 30, according to EIA’s latest Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report . This level matches the previous weekly record of 3,929 Bcf set November 2, 2012. Although October marks the traditional end of the injection season, inventory increases commonly continue into the first weeks of November . Largely depending on the weather, inventories could surpass 4 trillion cubic feet in the coming weeks. Inventory builds have been strong throughout the summer, with inventories surpassing the five-year (2010–14) average during most weeks. With an estimated net injection of 2,453 Bcf since the refill season began in April, the 2015 injection season has been the second-highest net build on record, falling short of last year’s record overall injection . During 2015, marketed natural gas production levels remained several […]
U.S. shale leader Range sells Virginia shale assets for $876M
Range Resources betting on Utica and Marcellus shale after selling off acreage in Virginia that accounted for about 7.5 percent of output. Image courtesy of Range Resources FORT WORTH, Texas, Nov. 4 (UPI) — U.S. shale leader Range Resources said it was selling off its holdings in Virginia to bring value forward at a time when the industry is in a downturn. Range said it was selling off its holdings in the Nora basin in southwestern Virginia, where the company held about 460,000 net acres and operated around 3,500 wells. "While these are great assets operated by a talented team, bringing the value forward through a sale was the best decision for our shareholders," Range Resources top executive Jeff Ventura said in a statement. The company said it produced around 109 million cubic feet per day from its Nora assets, which represented about 7.5 percent of its total output […]