for week ending August 17, 2011 | Release date: August 18, 2011 | Previous weeks
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Overview (For the Week Ending Wednesday, August 17, 2011) | |||||||||||
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More Summary Data | |||||||||||
Prices | |||||||||||
With the exception of an almost across the board increase in prices on Friday, August 12, spot prices fell at most trading locations across the country this report week, with many ending the week below $4. The price increase on Friday was likely a response to the release of the storage report showing below-expected builds. The Henry Hub spot price averaged $3.97 per MMBtu yesterday, its lowest level since March of 2010. Northeast prices fell during the week, but in general remained above $4, with prices at Transcontinental Pipeline’s Zone 6 pricing point for delivery into New York City declining during the report week from $4.41 per MMBtu last Wednesday to $4.20 yesterday. |
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Declining temperatures this week led to a considerable drop in consumption of natural gas for power generation. Power burn fell almost 19 percent week over week, according to data from Bentek Energy Services, LLC. Supply declined slightly under 1 percent during the week as declines in LNG and Canadian imports offset ever so slight production increases. Dry production increased 0.2 percent from the previous week, while Canadian imports fell 10.4 percent and LNG imports declined by over 30 percent, with LNG imports averaging only 314 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day this week.
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More Price Data | |||||||||||
Storage | |||||||||||
Working natural gas in storage rose to 2,833 Bcf as of Friday, August 12, according to EIA’s WNGSR (see Storage Figure). Following a net injection of 50 Bcf from the previous week, stocks are now 175 Bcf below last year and 73 Bcf less than the 5-year average. The injection marks the end of five consecutive weeks of below-average builds. Last year’s build was just 28 Bcf and the 5-year average build is 43 Bcf. |
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More Storage Data | |||||||||||
Other Market Trends | |||||||||||
ERCOT Contracts with Power Generation Owners to Add Additional Capacity. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas announced temporary contracts through October with two power generation owners to bring back online four previously mothballed natural gas-fired generators in cases of extreme heat. Garland Power and Light and NRG Energy each own two of the generators, which total about 400 megawatts. The generators will only be brought online if necessary to prevent extreme measures such as rolling blackouts. Due to extreme heat this summer, electricity use in Texas has been exceptionally high, and increasing demand for energy has put stress on generators within the ERCOT area. ERCOT also noted that if extreme drought conditions in the State continue, it could lead to outages because of power plant cooling water issues. More information is available at: http://www.ercot.com/news/press_releases/show/424 | |||||||||||
See Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report for additional Natural Gas Storage Data. |