Natural Gas Futures News

U.S. producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported at top capacity in April for a second consecutive month, with over two-thirds of shipments bound for Europe and rising volumes to Latin America, Refinitiv Eikon data showed on Monday.Following the full restart of a key Texas export facility in February, U.S. LNG producers are taking advantage of firm prices overseas and increasing demand in some markets.A total of 107 cargoes departed from U.S. ports last month carrying 7.78 million tonnes of LNG…

The first liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel arrived on Friday at Freeport LNG's long-idled export plant in Texas since the facility shut in a fire in June last year, according to ship tracking data from Refinitiv.The vessel Kmarin Diamond is operated by a unit of oil major BP, one of Freeport's big customers, according to several vessel tracking services.News of the vessel's arrival helped boost U.S. natural gas futures by over 5% in post-settlement trade on Friday as the second biggest U.S. LNG export plant will consume a lot of gas once it starts production again.The contract had closed at a 25-month low earlier in the week due mostly to mild weather and low heating demand.Freeport has said it would soon start sending gas to one of the plant's three liquefaction trains…

Freeport LNG, the second-largest U.S. liquefied natural gas exporter, on Monday said it had completed repairs to its Texas plant and asked U.S. regulators for permission to take early steps to restart the fire-idled facility.The closely-held liquified natural gas (LNG) company's export facility was knocked offline by a fiery blast on June 8 and barred from resuming production until federal regulators completed an extensive safety review and approved resulting changes.Freeport LNG sought permission to begin introducing LNG into the plant's piping system…

Freeport LNG, one of the largest operators of liquefied natural gas export plants in the United States,on Tuesday said last week's fire damage to its Texas plant would keep it fully offline until September with only partial operation through to the year end.Natural gas prices slumped in the United States and soared in Europe on the lengthier shutdown as the Quintana, Texas, facility produces roughly 20% of U.S. LNG exports and has been a major supplier to Europe, which has sought…

U.S. natural gas futures edged up about 2% on Tuesday on record power demand in Texas, forecasts for more gas demand over the next two weeks than previously expected, a reduction in gas output, low wind power and much higher global gas prices.Power demand in Texas failed to hit a new all-time high on Monday due to less hot weather, but will likely break peak use records on Tuesday and later this week as homes and businesses keep air conditioners cranked up to escape a lingering heatwave.

Intercontinental Exchange, operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of data and listings services,  reported new milestones in the trading of the TTF natural gas and JKM LNG (Platts) contracts.In September, TTF Futures and Options hit an all-time monthly volume record of more than two million lots (2,023,848), equivalent to 1,484 TWh. TTF Futures set a new daily volume record on September 10 of 193,695 lots, equivalent to 142.1 TWh.TTF is the most liquid European natural gas benchmark, followed by ICE’s UK Natural Gas Futures (NBP).Europe’s interconnected natural gas infrastructure allows it to absorb LNG arriving…

A surge in speculative interest in the U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export boom has pushed open interest in natural gas futures to an all-time high, traders said on Thursday. Open interest, which measures the number of contracts outstanding, in the Henry Hub front-month hit 386,826 on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday, topping the previous high of 366,383 set in May 2016, according to Reuters data going back to 1990. "There has been a narrative around the market that the LNG exports are going to be the difference maker this winter…

With the United States about to become a net exporter of natural gas for the first time in 60 years, Intercontinental Exchange Inc said on Wednesday it would begin trading the first-ever U.S. liquefied natural gas futures contract in May. ICE said the contracts would be cash-settled against the Platts LNG Gulf Coast Marker price assessment and use Platts-derived U.S. GCM LNG forward curves for daily settlement purposes. The curves will have an initial term of 48 months. "Domestic and international market participants now have a risk-management solution that lays the foundation for a more effective means of hedging their spot and forward exposure," J.C. Kneale, ICE's vice president, North American power and natural gas markets, said in a statement. U.S.

U.S. natural gas futures on Friday sank to within a penny of a 1995 low as drillers continue to pull near record amounts of gas out of the ground despite forecasts for warm weather and light heating demand and with stockpiles at record high levels. Front-month gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange were down 2.3 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $1.616 per million British thermal units at 7:27 a.m. EST (227GMT), the lowest level since August 1998. If the contract falls below $1.61, it would drop to the lowest level since September 1995. Futures have been on a downward spiral for months. So far this year, the front-month has collapsed over 30 percent. Friday's decline puts the front-month on track for a sixth down week in a row, the longest losing streak since January 2015.

According to reports, oil prices fell by three per cent Monday, slipping below $59 a barrel as traders looked ahead to U.S. supply data due out Wednesday that is expected to show rising inventories of crude. Doubts about OPEC's ability to implement a 1.2 million barrels a day production cut also weighed on prices. Last week, oil prices surged after the U.S. Energy Department data showed a large decline in crude-oil inventories. But some analysts believe the market overreacted to the data by failing to account for the impact of a temporary shutdown of the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, through which 10 per cent of all U.S. oil imports flow.

U.S. oil prices fell Monday on renewed concerns that the OPEC cartel's recent cut in production would not be enough to counter the impact of a global economic slowdown. U.S. light sweet crude for September delivery traded down 1.4 percent, or 23 cents, at $26.96 a barrel. London Brent futures for September delivery traded down 21 cents to $24.98 a barrel. Oil prices have declined steadily since late May amid increasing evidence that the global economic slowdown is eating into demand for petroleum this year. Concern over falling prices and a sustained rise in spare petroleum stocks spurred the OPEC producer cartel to agree last week to a 1 million barrels per day (bpd) output cut. But traders were reluctant to push prices up without indications that the world economy is rebounding.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2001, the Chiles Offshore reported net income of $7.6 million compared to net income of $4.4 million reported for the corresponding quarter ended December 31, 2000. Revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2001, was $20.8 million compared to revenue of $16.8 million for the corresponding quarter ended December 31, 2000. For the fourth quarter they reported other income of $3.8 million relating to economic hedges regarding the anticipated future issuance of long-term debt and short positions in natural gas futures contracts, of which $1.8 million represents cash received from realized positions and $2 million or $0.10 per diluted share represents unrealized positions.

Hurricane Katrina swept ashore yesterday as a Category 4 hurricane, and has left untold destruction to the Gulf states of Louisian, Mississippi and Alabama. Another effect of the storm could be felt for months to come, as crude oil futures briefly touched above $70 per barrel for the first time, and natural gas futures jumped nearly 20 percent. According to an AP report, the Bush administration is considering releasing some oil from the nation's emergency petroleum stockpile to help refiners once the storm passes, though a final decision apparently has not been made. According to AP, wholesale gasoline prices in the New York and Gulf Coast markets jumped 25-35 cents a gallon on Monday following reports that about eight percent of U.S.