Prepare for higher natural gas prices this winter.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Rustygun

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Oct 6, 2008
Messages
480
Reaction score
554
Location
Tulsa
There is ZERO demand for drilling for natural gas in the US because we are oversupplied. That being said, the cut us where they can!
I am pretty sure that at least 40% of the electricity in the US is natural gas fired generation. the demand you must be talking about is industrial and residential. Those two segments have been depressed like everything else due to the pandemic.

the current elevated price of natural gas is due to in part to several things, probably the biggest influence is the Biden administration has reinstated all the burdensome regulations on the energy industry and essentially stopped horizontal drilling and fracking. So producers costs have gone up forcing some of them out of business and supply has has declined.
 

SlugSlinger

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Apr 14, 2009
Messages
7,825
Reaction score
7,621
Location
Owasso

October Natural Gas Bidweek Prices Spike Amid Global Supply Trouble, Potential for Winter Crisis​


Share on:
Natural gas prices soared in October bidweek trading as markets fixated on a potential global supply squeeze and expectations of strong demand for U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by winter.

October2021Bidweek.jpg

NGI’s October Bidweek National Avg. spiked $1.355 month/month to $5.495/MMBtu. A year earlier, when the coronavirus pandemic weighed heavily on demand, the October 2020 bidweek average came in at only $1.865.

Bidweek spanned Friday, Sept. 24 and Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 27 and 28. Natural Gas Intelligence announced in May the decision to shift to a three-day bidweek trading period, beginning with October bidweek, instead of the traditional five days in its price index determination period.

During bidweek, the October Nymex natural gas futures contract rolled off the board on Tuesday after gaining more than 70 cents over its final two days. It topped $6.00 in intraday trading and settled at $5.841/MMBtu on Tuesday.

[Winter Outlook: Wondering where natural gas prices are headed in the months ahead? Subscribers can replay our recent webinar with Refinitiv, in which we discuss where supply/demand fundamentals are headed this winter season, what the forward curve suggests and what to look for from a former natural gas trader. Play now.]

The November contract opened its run as the front month on Wednesday with a whimper, dropping 40.3 cents amid profit-taking. But the new front month surged back the following day, rising 39.0 cents, as overseas supply worries — and upward pressure on global prices — overshadowed a plump U.S. government inventory print and forecasts for light domestic demand due to fall weather.

The supply woes – spanning Europe, Asia and South America – defined futures trading through most of September and fueled the upward burst in bidweek prices. Key benchmark prices in both Europe and Asia both recently reached record levels.

“As Europe and Asia compete for limited natural gas supply on the global market, there is little stopping global prices from continuing to push higher,” analysts at EBW Analytics Group said. “The rapid escalation in global natural gas market conditions highlights the fundamental short-term price inelasticity of supply and demand. New production cannot be turned on overnight, even as prices soar.”

Against that backdrop, prices boomed across the Lower 48 during bidweek.

Out West, PG&E Citygate jumped $1.925 to $7.340 and Cheyenne Hub shot up $1.370 to $5.070.

Algonquin Citygate near Boston was among the biggest gainers in the East, picking up $1.665 to $5.415, while Florida Gas Zone 3popped $1.455 to $5.915.

In the Midwest, Chicago Citygate spiked $1.480 to $5.700, while in the Midcontinent,Enable East gained $1.430 to $5.510.

Volatility Ahead​

With global energy needs soaring but domestic demand waning amid mild autumn weather, analysts said Henry Hub futures prices could see-saw in the month ahead, as they have in recent days.

After slumping Wednesday and rebounding Thursday, the November contract on Friday shed 24.8 cents day/day and settled at $5.619/MMBtu. “Recent highly volatile trading is likely to continue,” the EBW team said.

Looking ahead, markets are likely to focus on Lower 48 weather patterns as well as the global supply picture and whether LNG can gather more momentum prior to winter.

Forecasts “favor very warm weather in the northern half of the nation” over the next two weeks, keeping early-season heating degree days “well below normal, all while having a lack of heat in the southern U.S.,” minimizing cooling demand as well, Bespoke Weather Services said.

The firm said its long-range outlook points to light demand deep into the fall. “The pattern is so weak” that, assuming five-year normal conditions beyond the first week of October, the firm projects that this month would feature the third-lowest gas-weighted degree (GWDD) total of any October in its 41 years of data. It “is not out of the question” that we make a run at October 2016’s record low gas-weighted degree day count. “This is driven by the La Niña base state currently in place.”

The leaner weather-driven demand is expected to result in robust storage injections during October, staving off any fears of a potential supply shortage in the United States.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an injection of 88 Bcf natural gas into storage for the week ended Sept. 24, the most recent covered period. The result exceeded the 74 Bcf print for the same week in 2020 and the five-year average of 72 Bcf.

The latest injection lifted inventories to 3,170 Bcf, though stocks held below the five-year average of 3,383 Bcf.

Storage levels in the United States over the past four weeks have steadily climbed, and analysts expect more of the same in coming weeks.

For the week ended Oct. 1, EIA “is likely to easily print over 100 Bcf, and potentially closer to 110 Bcf, thereby improving deficits” to the five-year average, NatGasWeather said. “The following one is also likely to be over 100 Bcf and a bit larger than normal to further improve deficits.”

Against that backdrop, the firm said, a sustained domestic demand rebound may not arrive until November.

However, in the meantime, analysts expect elevated LNG volumes to fuel energy needs in Asia and Europe. European stocks are precariously light – the result of extreme weather this year and a slow production recovery from the pandemic — and demand is surging in parts of Asia, led by mounting power needs in China.

These trends, along with pressing needs in Brazil and elsewhere in South America, are expected to extend into the peak demand months of winter. This is pushing gas prices to lofty levels on both continents, driving steady calls for U.S. LNG and supporting American gas prices.

LNG feed gas levels have been uneven amid maintenance work in recent weeks, but demand is holding strong and expected to push volumes close to record levels of around 12 Bcf/d by winter, if not sooner.

“With multiple energy markets around the world facing natural gas shortages, buyers are clamoring for more LNG,” RBN Energy LLC analyst Lindsay Schneider said.

Buyers are increasingly worried about winter energy crises overseas, with alternatives to natural gas, including coal, also in short supply. “Pre-winter panic-buying has sent global gas prices to record highs,” Schneider said.
 

SlugSlinger

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Apr 14, 2009
Messages
7,825
Reaction score
7,621
Location
Owasso
And it never ends!
Oh, i Changed my name to Awesome Customer.

Dear Awesome
Customer,

Oklahoma Natural Gas Company, a division of ONE Gas, Inc. (“Oklahoma Natural” or “Company”) is seeking an annual rate increase of approximately $28.7 million to recover increased business costs and infrastructure investments. This increase will be partially offset by a one-time tax-related credit to customers in the amount of $10.8 million, subject to true-up. The average net impact for a residential customer resulting from the tax credits and the adjustments to rates and charges that Oklahoma Natural proposes in this case is $1.45 per month for residential customers on both the residential A and B rates, and $0.42 per month for Low Income customers.

The proposed increase is not related to the extreme costs incurred by Oklahoma Natural during the extremely cold weather event in February of 2021.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission (“Commission”) is scheduled to begin hearings before an Administrative Law Judge on Oklahoma Natural's request for a rate increase at 8:30 a.m. on October 28, 2021, in Courtroom 301, Third Floor of the Jim Thorpe Office Building, 2101 North Lincoln Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105. The hearing will be held each business day and continue until the hearing concludes. After the hearing, the Commission will issue its final order and approved rate changes will become effective after the final decision.

All members of the public, including individual customers of Oklahoma Natural Gas Company, will have an opportunity to provide comments on October 26, 2021, beginning at 1:30 p.m., in Courtroom 301, Third Floor of the Jim Thorpe Office Building, 2101 North Lincoln Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105. Members of the public may also provide written comments by mail to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, P.O. Box 52000, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73152 or by email to [email protected] with “Attention: Public Comment PUD 202100063” in the subject line. All interested persons may appear and be heard or may provide written comments.

For information concerning this action, contact any of the following:

Oklahoma Natural Gas Company by telephone at (918) 586-8977; or Michael L. Velez, Deputy General Counsel, Oklahoma Corporation Commission by mail at Oklahoma Corporation Commission, 2101 North Lincoln Boulevard, Fourth Floor, Jim Thorpe Office Building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105; by phone at (405) 522-5930; or by email at [email protected]; or Kyle Vazquez, by phone at (405) 522-2100; or by email at [email protected]; or Jared B. Haines, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, by mail at 313 NE 21st Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, by telephone at (405) 521-3921, or by email at [email protected].
 

POPIG

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Oct 18, 2013
Messages
109
Reaction score
12
Location
Pryor
I have family working for one of major power companies they have been converting from coal to gas but after last year have decided to leave last plant as coal their coal pile was near zero they have been stocking as fast as they can. Those of us on gas need to find backup heat. Even though propane Is not allowed in my town I am bringing tank in 200 pound size and getting ventless heater. I purchased two solar generators to at least keep fan blowing if power goes out. Everything I read says this and next few winters could be more than people under fifty have ever seen. Good Luck
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom