Thursday, April 17, 2014

Natural Gas: EIA Weekly Supply/Demand Report

From the Energy Information Administration:

Natural Gas Weekly Update
for week ending April 16, 2014  |  Release Date:  April 17 2014  |  Next Release: April 24, 2014

...Prices/Demand/Supply:

Outside of the Southeast, prices at most market locations rise. Henry Hub spot prices fell slightly from $4.66/MMBtu last Wednesday to $4.62/MMBtu yesterday, while other pricing points in the Southeast moved similarly. However, at most other locations around the country, overall price changes were small, with more small net gains than small net losses for the report week.

Northeast prices fall during warm weather, then rise. In the Northeast, prices had fallen below the Henry Hub spot price in many trading locations over the weekend. However, with unseasonably cool weather beginning Tuesday, April 15, prices went back up to end the week at a premium to the Henry Hub. At the Algonquin Citygate, which serves Boston consumers, prices traded at a $0.57/MMBtu discount to the Henry Hub on Friday. On Tuesday, prices at Algonquin Citygate were at a $2.10/MMBtu premium to the Henry Hub. The Northeast price increases were less pronounced outside of New England; at Transco Zone 6 NY, prices ended Tuesday at $4.75/MMBtu, an 8-cent premium to the Henry Hub. The Algonquin Citygate and Transco Zone 6 NY prices ended the report week on Wednesday at $5.55/MMBtu and $4.53/MMBtu, respectively.

Nymex declines slightly. The price of the near-month (May 2014) contract at the Nymex fell from $4.586/MMBtu last Wednesday to $4.530/MMBtu yesterday. The price of the 12-month strip (the 12 contracts between May 2014 and April 2015) fell from $4.650/MMBtu last Wednesday to $4.598/MMBtu yesterday.

Increased production boosts supply. According to Bentek data, overall supply rose 0.2% this week. This increase was largely due to a 0.3% increase in dry production week over week. Bentek noted that dry production of 68.0 Bcf on Sunday was an all-time record high. Pipeline imports of natural gas from Canada fell by 1.6% week over week, with declines in imports in the West and Northeast offsetting gains in the Midwest. LNG sendout declined slightly, but has been a minimal part of the supply picture for some time now.

Consumption falls. Decreases in residential and commercial consumption drove an overall 3.9% decline in U.S. demand. Residential and commercial consumption fell 10.5% as heating demand subsided. Consumption of gas for power generation rose 3.1%, likely the result of increased air-conditioning demand in the parts of the South that experienced summer-like weather over the weekend. Industrial consumption fell by 1.8% and exports to Mexico rose 3.6%....
...MUCH MORE 

U.S. Natural Gas Supply - Gas Week: (4/2/14 - 4/9/14)

Percent change for week compared with:
last year
last week
Gross Production
4.83%
0.29%
Dry Production
4.79%
0.29%
Canadian Imports
-14.84%
-1.61%
      West (Net)
-8.12%
-2.86%
      MidWest (Net)
-27.98%
6.95%
      Northeast (Net)
189.79%
-34.54%
LNG Imports
-41.70%
-1.86%
Total Supply
3.26%
0.17%

Earlier:
Energy Is About to Get More Expensive (XLE; ERX)
Natural gas: Not Storing Nearly Enough to Avoid Calamity, Futures Jump 4%