A Look at “Volatile” NatGas Prices and Where They May Go Next
In the space of two months, the NYMEX “front month” natural gas futures contract went from bumping around under $3/MMBtu (million British thermal units) to the mid-$4 range. It’s been an amazing ride. And it would be easy to think “we’ve arrived” and can kiss $3 territory goodbye. That would be a mistake. While we earnestly hope the price will remain where it is, in the $4 range, analysts, including EBW Analytics Group, caution that for U.S. natural gas prices, “immediate-term volatility risks remain high into December expiration.” Volatility means the price can swing wildly at a moment’s notice. Where is the NYMEX and spot/physical price now? And where might prices go over the next couple of weeks? Read More “A Look at “Volatile” NatGas Prices and Where They May Go Next”
In June 2023, Dominion Energy announced plans to build four small “peaker” electric generating plants in Chesterfield County near Richmond (see 
Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) will hold a meeting on Tuesday, December 9, to consider whether or not to accept a petition by radical green groups, including the Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project, to “study” the issue of increasing setbacks for shale drilling so far that it would ban ALL new Marcellus/Utica drilling in the Keystone State. The EQB tabled a decision on accepting the petition back in April (see 
UGI, a diversified energy company with midstream (pipeline) operations and one of PA’s largest utility companies, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its newest LNG peak shaver facility in Carlisle (Cumberland County), PA, yesterday. In November 2020, UGI launched the operation of a new 2-million-gallon LNG peak shaver in Bethlehem, PA (see 
In July, MDN told you that Talen Energy, a leading energy producer in the U.S., which owns and operates approximately 10.7 gigawatts (GW) of power infrastructure, had announced the acquisition of two gas-fired power plants: one located near Wilkes-Barre in northeastern Pennsylvania, and the other in Guernsey County, in eastern Ohio (see 
This is really rich. Venture Global (VG), now the second-largest LNG (liquefied natural gas) exporter in the U.S., is accusing Shell of waging a “three-year campaign” to damage VG’s LNG business. VG’s Calcasieu Pass (CP) LNG export facility in Louisiana began operations in March 2022. Typically, a new LNG facility will load and ship several (maybe two or three) cargoes to “work out the kinks” and ensure everything is working as advertised. VG, using loopholes in its signed contracts, maintained that it was working out the kinks long after it began shipping. After *hundreds of cargoes* were shipped, CP’s customers were still not receiving their contracted (at lower prices) shipments. Shell, along with several other customers, sued (see 
Yesterday, LNG exporter Venture Global announced that Tokyo Gas has signed a 20-year contract to purchase 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from VG. Not many details were shared. We don’t know which facility (current or planned) the gas will come from. Financial terms were not disclosed. What we do know is that contracted shipments will begin sometime in 2030. As with all of these deals, our interest is in whether more Marcellus/Utica molecules will feed the plant doing the liquefying. It’s a good bet they will. 
MDN is taking both Thanksgiving Thursday and Black Friday off. While you’re taking time to be thankful for your friends, family, food, drinks, and other luxuries, take a moment to say THANK YOU to the resources that make this holiday so wonderful: fossil fuels! Below is a video from our friends at Clear Energy Alliance. Watch it (under 4 minutes) to learn just how much oil, natural gas, and coal bring to the table during the holiday season — and every other day of the year. 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Georgia Power’s large load pipeline shrinks by 6 GW; NATIONAL: Coming wave of LNG supplies more likely to produce a rising tide than a cataclysm; U.S. feedgas demand set to soar by the end of the year; JPMorgan projects Brent crude at $57 a barrel, WTI at $53 in 2027; INTERNATIONAL: Oil closes the day near month low; OPEC+ again faces thorny issue of how much it can pump; Aramco makes 17 deals with ‘major’ USA cos worth $30B+; IEA publishes climate era’s obituary; Climategate turns 16 – never forget.