RSS Feed
Natural gas market indicators
Recent prices for natural gas have strengthened but it hasn’t occurred in a vacuum. World oil prices have led the way on expectations of global economic improvements in late 2009 and 2010. An overall review of current U.S. gas supply shows a curve that is beginning to indicate a downward trend; however, most of the change has come in the form of import reductions from Canada. Domestic production declines will happen as time passes given reductions in drilling activity and budgets – that is a fact.
What is unknown is how rapidly the large volume market for industrial consumption of natural gas will rebound. With that said, many analysts believe that the market price for natural gas still has room at the bottom to fall given high storage inventories, lackluster demand and a relatively strong supply position compared to potential summer demand.
Visit this link to download the full Natural Gas Market Indicator. Topics covered include: Reported Prices, Weather, Working Gas in Underground Storage, Natural Gas Production, Rig Counts, Pipeline Imports and Exports, and LNG Markets.
Obama budget could impact future domestic energy supplies
Filed under: Natural Gas, energy
I’ve been reading quite a few stories in the news recently covering President Obama’s final fiscal 2010 federal budget proposal and the impact that the new taxes and other provisions could have on future domestic energy supplies.
Earlier this year, the American Gas Association (AGA) issued a release on the President’s proposed budget, which details AGA’s concerns about the budget’s potential negative impact on natural gas customers through higher energy prices. It looks like we’re not alone on this.
Here’s a story from the New York Times where John Felmy, chief economist at the American Petroleum Institute, says the impact of the budget on the industry will be to raise taxes on producers. The concern then being that most of this impact will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher fuel costs.
The Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States believes that the budget tax increases are most harmful to small American energy companies that produce the clean, affordable and abundant American natural gas that we need to increase energy security, make renewable energy sources viable, and address climate change.
In another story from the Oil and Gas Journal, Barry Russell, the president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, says that the budget “does not recognize that in order to decrease our reliance on foreign oil, we need to increase our own American supplies of natural gas and oil.”
These are just a few of the articles I came across. Many are concerned that the President’s budget would make it harder to develop America’s domestic natural resources by repealing existing tax provisions that encourage American production, as well as creating new excise taxes on offshore production and new user fees that will add to the overly complex and costly permit process.
By discouraging the production of America’s cleanest-burning, domestically abundant fossil fuel, this budget could ultimately tighten domestic supplies of natural gas; therefore, causing financial burden on consumers through higher energy prices, higher monthly natural gas bills, and higher unemployment through the loss of well-paying American jobs.
After reading those articles, are you concerned?
Waxman-Markey: Tweak It Or Overhaul It?
Recently, Dave Parker participated in the National Journal’s Energy and Environment Experts blog to respond to their question, “Waxman-Markey: Tweak It Or Overhaul It?” Please take a moment to visit the National Journal Energy Experts blog to see his response as well as the comments from others in this respected group.
True Blue Natural Gas Blog from the American Gas Association (AGA)- Beating the Heat with Summer LIHEAP Action Day
- “The Future of Natural Gas,” Meet Dr. Ernest J. Moniz, MIT
- Renewable Gas – Vision for a Sustainable Gas Network
- The Natural Gas Revolution
- The natural gas grid…the really smart grid
- Meeting the Route 66 guys
- Drilling 101
- ‘Drive To Inspire’ Rides Through Tulsa
- Congratulations to the AGA Awards of Merit Recipients
- Summer LIHEAP Action Day
