Wednesday physical natural gas trading for Thursday delivery saw widespread weakness of a few pennies at most spots around the country offset by significant strength in California and New England, where colder temperatures were beginning to set in.
Spectra Energy's long-under-attack New Jersey-New York Expansion early last week received unanimous approval from FERC, which means firm natural gas transportation service into Manhattan could be operational sometime during the fourth quarter of 2013.
With the heat expected to continue boosting power generation demand through the weekend and futures showing no signs of weakness, the week-long cash market rally pressed on Friday although it lost some steam at some locations in the Northeast, particularly Iroquois Zone 2, which had been one of the hottest points over the course of the week. Iroquois prices were flat in the mid $7.60s, but Dracut and Tennessee Zone 6 added more than 30 cents.
Natural gas and motor gasoline never had much to do with each other, but new environmental rules and the natural gas liquids (NGL) abundance from shale plays could make for a bit more of a connection, Bentek Energy LLC and Turner, Mason & Co. (TMC) have found.
In an effort to lower heating bills next winter, the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) has ordered each of the state's utilities to purchase 40% of its summer gas injection needs immediately for delivery between now and October.