NYMEX Price Crashes Following Warm 15-Day Weather Predictions
Even though the Freeport LNG export facility is in the midst of restarting and is now using 1.5 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) of natural gas (out of a potential 2.1 Bcf/d when it’s operating at full capacity), the new demand coming from Freeport was not enough to counter the “bad news” that the weather will not be as cold as previously predicted over the next 15 days. Weather not-as-cold spells less demand for natural gas overall, and the lack of demand has translated to a crash in the NYMEX futures price based on the Henry Hub, the national benchmark for gas trading. Yesterday the “front month” NYMEX gas price contract dropped 44 cents (17%) in a single day.
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Could air pollution related to drilling shale wells affect those who live nearby? In particular, does shale drilling negatively affect the health of older folks (over age 65)? How would we know if it is affecting their health? Researchers set out to answer that question by analyzing Medicare data for older folks who live near Marcellus drilling in Pennsylvania, comparing the data with older folks who live in nearby New York, where there is no Marcellus drilling. The researchers conclude that living near shale drilling increases the likelihood of old folks having a heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular issues.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) sent a new round of questions yesterday to Freeport LNG. The questions must be answered before the two agencies give their final blessing for Freeport to bring online its third and final train of LNG production. Which seems a bit odd to us. FERC previously granted Freeport permission to restart two of three LNG liquefaction trains, two of three LNG storage tanks, and one of two LNG births for ships to tie up and load (see 
New England is heading for an energy disaster. It’s easy to predict. The latest analysts to look at the coming disaster are the sharp folks at RBN Energy. Their language is a bit more diplomatic than our blunt statements, but the conclusions are the same: New England is screwed. Royally. And it’s only a matter of time before massive blackouts begin in the region.
Last year after the shocking news that U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (from West Virginia) had sold out his state and the entire country by agreeing to support the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) bill, the details began to come out about just how bad this bill really is for the oil and gas industry. First and foremost, it slaps a new tax on oil and gas activities (see 
U.S. energy officials from some of the largest U.S. shale drillers had a private dinner last night with the tyrants and dictators of OPEC at CERAWeek in Houston. The annual confab between our shale drillers and OPEC is something of a tradition now (this is the fifth year it has taken place). Not much is known about the discussions at the meeting since it was private. However, Devon Energy CEO Rick Muncrief summarized the main takeaway as a general concern there is very little extra capacity in world oil markets right now.
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