FUTURES TRICKLE LOWER DESPITE SMALLISH STORAGE INJECTION PREDICTIONS
Keeping the week's streak of lower closes intact, August natural gas futures -- still faced with abysmal fundamentals -- pushed lower on Wednesday to close at $3.795, down 4 cents on the day and 31 cents on the week.
PROPOSED CLIMATE BILL CALLED RECIPE FOR FAILURE
The proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act, which narrowly passed the House last Friday, is a "public policy abomination" that "should be opposed by open-minded climate scientists and climate economists of all political persuasions," an executive told the Texas Energy Summit Wednesday.
GULF LANDING SURRENDERS MARAD LICENSE FOR DEEPWATER PORT
The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced Tuesday that Gulf Landing LLC has surrendered its license to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) deepwater port off the coast of Louisiana.
SANDRIDGE TO FUND MORE PINON FIELD EXPLORATION
SandRidge Energy Inc.'s CEO said Wednesday the company will use $258 million in proceeds from two transactions to strengthen its balance sheet and to fund more natural gas exploration in its prized Pinon Field in the West Texas Overthrust.
SENATE WESTERN CAUCUS ADVOCATES DOMESTIC ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
Eleven Republicans from western and rural states have united to form the Senate Western Caucus (SWC) to promote exploration and production of more domestic energy, including onshore and offshore oil and natural gas. "America deserves an all-of-the-above energy strategy," said Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), caucus chairman who, along with several other Republicans, introduced comprehensive energy legislation that supports the development of domestic resources, such as wind, solar, nuclear, clean coal and oil and natural gas.
FITCH DOWNGRADES DCP MIDSTREAM ON PRICE EXPOSURE
Commodity price exposure dinged the rating on DCP Midstream LLC (DCPM) debt as Fitch Ratings downgraded the company's senior unsecured debt and Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to "BBB" from "BBB+." However, the ratings outlook was revised to "stable" from "negative."
ANALYSTS: LNG IMPORT WAVE? OH, NEVER MIND
Predictions earlier this year of a flood of liquefied natural gas (LNG) that would hit U.S. shores apparently could have been uttered by Chicken Little, at least if Barclays Capital analysts are right about their expectation of relatively modest imports during the second half of 2009.
KINDER MORGAN, ETP FILE TO BUILD FAYETTEVILLE LINE
Fayetteville Express Pipeline LLC (FEP) has filed an application at FERC to build a new interstate pipeline project that would provide more takeaway capacity from Arkansas' Fayetteville Shale play. Prolific production in the Fayetteville Shale, which is estimated to have natural gas potential of 20-30 Tcf, is the driver behind the pipeline project.
BP REVAMPS ALTERNATIVES BUSINESS BUT SAYS STRATEGY UNCHANGED
BP plc remains committed to moving the company "beyond petroleum" despite a decision to downsize its alternative energy unit, company officials said this week.
MILD NORTHERN WEATHER PUSHES MOST POINTS LOWER
The cash market succumbed to a growing dearth of cooling load in the Midwest, Northeast and Canada by dropping at most points Tuesday. It also felt negative pressure from the previous day's 16.1-cent decline by August futures.
FUTURES FALL AS BULLS FAIL TO LOCATE FUNDAMENTAL TRACTION
With bulls unable to latch on to any real supportive fundamentals other than some pockets of hot temperatures in Texas, the South and the West, August natural gas futures continued plumbing the downside on Tuesday. The front-month contract put in a low of $3.798 in morning trade before closing the regular session at $3.835, down 10.9 cents from Monday's finish.
BG GROUP ALLIES WITH EXCO TO DEVELOP U.S. SHALE GAS
BG Group plc, better known for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) business, is the latest European energy company to stake a claim in North American gas shale in a $1.3 billion deal that gives it a half-stake in EXCO Resources Inc.'s holdings in Louisiana's Haynesville Shale and the Deep Bossier Sands of East Texas.
EIA SEES GAS PRODUCTION OFF SLIGHTLY IN APRIL
Natural gas production in the Lower 48 declined fractionally in April, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), registering a 0.2% decline in gross wellhead withdrawals from March. It was the second month in a row to show a reduction.
CFTC PROPOSES MAJOR MARKET DATA COLLECTION, INTEGRATION
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Tuesday moved to bolster futures trader transparency, including that of large traders, with a proposal to require detailed information on ownership, control and other information for all trading accounts active on U.S. futures exchanges.
GULF CROSSING CLEARED TO DELIVER UP TO 1.3 BCF/D IN JULY
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP Tuesday said its 356-mile Gulf Crossing Pipeline has completed remediation of pipe anomalies on its system and has been given the green light by the Department of Transportation (DOT) to operate the pipeline at normal operating pressures of up to 72% of the specified minimum yield strength (SMYS) effectively immediately.
FERC OKS PART OF COLUMBIA STORAGE EXPANSION FOR SERVICE
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Tuesday gave Columbia Gas Transmission LLC the green light to place into service part of the proposed expansion of its Ohio storage facilities.
FERC FINES FOUR FIRMS $10M FOR CAPACITY RELEASE VIOLATIONS
FERC Tuesday approved stipulation and consent agreements requiring four energy companies and affiliates to pay nearly $10 million, as well as disgorge almost $250,000 in unjust profits plus interest, for circumventing the agency's posting and bidding requirements for released capacity, violating shipper-must-have-title (SMHT) requirements and ignoring the prohibition on buy-sell transactions.
DOW, PARTNERS TESTING ALGAE-BASED ETHANOL AS NATGAS ALTERNATIVE
Dow Chemical Co. and a Florida-based start-up have partnered on a project that uses algae to turn carbon dioxide (CO2) into ethanol, which, if successful, could reduce the amount of natural gas Dow now uses to make plastics.
NEW INVESTMENT BANK TARGETS ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, CLEANTECH
Looking to jump on the 'green train' before it leaves the station, a former UBS banker has assembled experts from Goldman Sachs, Citi, Morgan Stanley and Barclays to form Greentech Capital Advisors (GCA), an alternative energy and cleantech-focused investment bank.(
SOCAL PORTS OPEN LNG/CNG STATION; AT&T CONVERTS 600 VEHICLES
What is billed as the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG)/compressed natural gas (CNG) truck fueling station has opened in the nation's busiest port, the combined Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors in Southern California, according to an announcement Tuesday by the builder of the facility, Seal Beach, CA-based Clean Energy Fuels Corp. Separately in Texas, AT&T said it has joined BAF Technologies to convert 600 of the telecommunications firm's fleet vehicles to run on CNG.
EPA GRANTS WAIVER ON CALIFORNIA VEHICLE STANDARDS
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tuesday granted California a waiver to enforce a state greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standard for new motor vehicles, beginning with the current model year. Environmentalists and state officials immediately lauded the much-anticipated move by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson).
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