The prices of oil and natural gas appear to have bottomed now. But with inventories near record levels, a quick price spike much higher doesn’t seem sustainable in the short-term. Yesterday, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly petroleum report clearly showed that recessionary low demand continues to dominate (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘Natural Gas’
Oil & Gas Prices Back on the Rise
Thursday, May 7th, 2009US oil output finally following rig count down
Friday, May 1st, 2009
For months I’ve been talking about the potential of falling prices and rig counts to lower production. Well, in last week’s Energy Information Administration weekly petroleum report we finally saw a significant drop in crude oil output of (more…)
US Electricity Emissions in Freefall
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) US electric power estimates for January and February just came out. And the numbers are dramatic. Net generation in January was down ~3.3% from January 2008, largely on lower demand from industrial users. February showed an even greater ~6.9% nosedive in (more…)
Recession Demand Sends Fuel Inventories Toward Record Highs
Thursday, April 16th, 2009
This past quarter was another tough one for the US economy. Industrial production sank to a record low in March below 70% of capacity. The resulting lower demand for fuels is sending storage levels toward record highs. The EIA reported this morning that natural gas rose another (more…)
New Report: US emissions to fall another 2.5+% in 2009
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
In February, I shared that the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted lower greenhouse gas emissions from US energy consumption in 2009. Their earlier projection of ~2% lower emissions just shifted in their April report to a much lower (more…)
Natural Gas Rig Count Continues Nosedive
Friday, March 27th, 2009
Baker Hughes reported today that the number of active natural gas rigs is now half the peak level hit last September. That’s right – in just 6 months US companies have gone from actively trying to increase production (taking advantage of high US natural gas prices above $10 per MMBtu) to not even having the rigs to maintain (more…)
Say Hello to $2 Gas Again
Thursday, March 26th, 2009
As I projected last week, the average price of gasoline nationwide climbed above $2 again. This morning, AAA reported prices increased 2.3 cents to $2.009 per gallon. The range in prices remained wide as the state with the lowest price averaged $1.798 and the highest averaged (more…)
Coal Share of US Electricity Falling
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
I’ve got some good news to share — coal is losing its market share in the US electricity mix to less carbon-intensive sources. In the late 1990s, coal-fired power plants produced almost 53% of total US electricity. And the US EIA just released in its estimate for 2008 electricity that coal’s share fell to (more…)
Natural Gas Recovering on Prospects of Lower Supply
Friday, March 20th, 2009The price of natural gas increased significantly the last couple of days. And it’s not just because of a weaker dollar. The US natural gas rig count fell another 3% last week to 857, more than 46% below their September peak. It is now at a number that threatens (more…)
Natural Gas Supplies Remain High, For Now
Friday, March 13th, 2009Yesterday’s EIA natural gas storage report showed ample supplies continuing through March. Inventories are 13.3% higher than average for this time of year and almost 20% higher than last year. But the rig count makes many analysts think prices will rise in the second half of the year unless economic collapse sends demand even further down. (more…)