MiamiGent
12 years ago
EP El Paso 4Q Net More Than Doubles; El Paso Pipeline Earnings Up 24%
PROVIDED BY Dow Jones & Company, Inc. - 11:48 AM 02/27/2012
-Natural gas throughput up 8%
-El Paso seeking expansion in Marcellus shale formation
-Higher maintenance and payroll costs drag on pipeline business
(Updates throughout with details, analyst comment)
By Ben Lefebvre
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--El Paso Corp.'s (EP) fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled as higher oil prices offset a drop in natural gas values, the company said Monday.
El Paso, which operates an oil-and-gas production business and a network of interstate natural-gas pipelines in North America, last year agreed to sell itself to Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) for $21 billion, a deal which is expected to close by the second quarter of this year. The Houston-based company said Friday it would sell its oil and gas production business to a group of investors led by Apollo Global Management for $7.15 billion, a deal also expected to close by the second quarter.
For the latest period, El Paso posted a profit of $185 million, or 24 cents a share, up from $71 million, or 9 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 25% to $1.23 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 29 cents a share on $1.35 billion in revenue.
El Paso's E&P segment posted $92 million in profit, compared with a $27 million loss last year, amid a 21% rise in oil prices. The company increased its oil production by 50% year over year, to 22,300 barrels a day, the latest energy producer to shift its focus away from a natural gas market weakened by a supply glut and stagnant demand.
New drilling technology has allowed companies to produce more natural gas from areas previously considered unproductive, creating a glut that has depressed prices. Natural gas for April delivery closed at $2.695 a million British thermal units Friday, down from over $4 in February 2011.
El Paso said overall output rose 11% to 880 million cubic feet equivalent a day. The amount of natural gas flowing through its pipelines grew by 8% as growing production in the Marcellus shale formation in the northeastern U.S. offset a drop in supply from the Rocky Mountain region, El Paso said.
El Paso said it has four permits pending for pipeline expansion projects in the Marcellus even as drillers have announced they will slow down production because of the low prices for the commodity.
"It's likely the right move strategically, but it may be a little premature given where gas prices are," Morningstar analyst Jason Stevens said of El Paso's Marcellus expansion.
An inflationary atmosphere was also a drag on the company's pipeline business, with El Paso saying increased payroll, worker benefit and maintenance costs drove operating earnings down 5% year over year.
Meanwhile, El Paso Pipeline Partners LP (EPB) saw its earnings rise 24%. El Paso Pipeline (EPB) reported earnings of $126 million, or 51 cents a unit, up from $ 102 million, or 53 cents a unit a year earlier. Operating revenue rose 2.8% to $ 362 million. Analysts expected earnings of 60 cents a unit on revenue of $385 million.
El Paso Pipeline (EPB) is a so-called master limited partnership, a tax-advantaged structure in which most of the company's earnings are paid out to shareholders in the form of dividend-like distributions. A separate "general partner," which is owned by El Paso Corp. (EP), oversees day-to-day operations.
El Paso Corp. (EP) was up 1.25% at $27.50 in recent trading. Units for El Paso Pipeline Partners (EPB) were $37.58, down 1.1%.
-By Ben Lefebvre, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9201; ben.lefebvre@dowjones.com
--Mia Lamar contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-27-12 1148ET
ChitForBrains
13 years ago
LaSalle County, Texas; Eagleford, EP is hiding the data, G-1 filings, for example, API 28332299 http://webapps.rrc.state.tx.us/CMPL/publicHomeAction.do .
Go to LaSalle County, the Holland Dam block to find EP wells.
http://gis2.rrc.state.tx.us/public/startit.htm
Oops
ChitForBrains
13 years ago
LaSalle County, Texas; Eagleford, EP is hiding the data, G-1 filings, for example, API 28332299 http://webapps.rrc.state.tx.us/CMPL/publicHomeAction.do .
Go to LaSalle County, the Holland Dam block to find EP wells.
http://webapps.rrc.state.tx.us/CMPL/publicHomeAction.do
CHA$E
13 years ago
Yur goona dooo dwat .... (?)
El Paso Pipeline Partners Announces Pricing of Public Offering of Common Units
Upon mandatory conversion, holders of Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive 77.2295 shares of El Paso common stock, par value $3.00 per share ("Common Stock"), for each share of Preferred Stock converted. A total of up to 57,922,125 shares of Common Stock will be issued upon conversion of the Preferred Stock. Cash will be paid in lieu of fractional shares of Common Stock.
El Paso expects the conversion of shares to further strengthen its credit profile while providing $35 million of annual cash savings. The conversion does not impact the company's previously announced 2011 adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance.
On and after the Mandatory Conversion Date, dividends will cease to accrue on the Preferred Stock and all rights of holders of the Preferred Stock will terminate except for the right to receive the number of whole shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the Preferred Stock and cash, in lieu of any fractional shares of Common Stock. No payment or adjustment will be made upon conversion of the Preferred Stock for accumulated dividends.
NovoMira
16 years ago
Petrobras seeks to buy Valero refinery in Aruba
Tue Apr 15, 2008
By Denise Luna
RIO DE JANEIRO, April 15 (Reuters) - Brazil's state-run oil company, Petrobras (PETR4.SA:)(PBR.N:), will resume talks this month to buy a refinery in Aruba owned by independent U.S. refiner Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N:), a Petrobras director said on Tuesday.
Jorge Luiz Zelada, director of international operations, said the company was not interested in other assets of the top U.S. refining company. "There has been an accident at the Aruba refinery recently and it is being repaired. We expect to resume the talks in April and inspect the refinery's installations," Zelada told reporters.
Sources familiar with the talks between the two companies said Petrobras had agreed to buy the 275,000 barrels per day (bpd) Aruba refinery for about $2.8 billion before the Jan. 25 fire in a vacuum distillation unit, which does the initial breakdown of crude oil in the refining process.
A Valero spokesman declined to discuss Zelada's statements or comment about possible buyers or a sale price for the refinery. Repairs at Valero's refinery on the Caribbean island of Aruba were scheduled to be completed this month. Petrobras won't take possession of the refinery until the repairs are complete, the sources said.
Valero, which has a combined throughput capacity of 3.1 million barrels per day at 16 refineries, said last month it was considering selling nearly a third of its North American refineries. Aruba along with other refineries Valero has said it would consider selling are less nimble in processing high-sulfur, high-density cheaper crudes in motor fuels that meet tight U.S. environmental rules and are not located near major bodies of water.
The Aruba refinery does not have a catalytic cracking unit to make gasoline. Valero has used the refinery as a producer of intermediate feedstocks that are shipped to other refineries to make finished products.
Valero purchased the refinery from El Paso Corp (EP.N) for $465 million in 2004. More than $640 million has been invested in upgrading the plant in past five years, according to Valero's Web site. "Whoever buys is buying a lot of headaches," said a source. "Petrobras fortunately has a lot of money. They're going to have to spend a huge amount of money there."
In addition to upgrades to the refinery itself, the Aruba refinery faces difficulties with its electrical power supply. Petrobras has recently bought a refinery in Okinawa, Japan, and is also expanding its refinery in Pasadena, Texas.
Zelada also confirmed Petrobras made a bid for Exxon Mobil Corp's (XOM.N:) Esso-brand network of service stations in Brazil. While it awaits a response, Petrobras also plans to start negotiations to buy Esso networks in Chile and Uruguay, he said.
NovoMira
16 years ago
FERC sets deadline for El Paso project
Houston Business Journal
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is preparing its environmental review for a proposed pipeline project operated by El Paso Corp. carrying Rocky Mountain gas from Wyoming to Oregon.
The proposed Ruby Pipeline project would consist of 680 miles of 42-inch pipeline and two compressor stations, capable of transporting 1.2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas.
The pipeline would begin in southern Wyoming and cross northern Utah and Nevada and terminate in Malin, Ore., just north of the California border.
According to a report from research firm SNL Financial, FERC staff said in its March 28 filing that Houston-based El Paso (NYSE: EP) expects to file its formal FERC application in early 2009 and, if approved, would begin construction by the second quarter of 2010 to put the project into service by 2011.
FERC has set an April 30 deadline for public comment before the environmental impact statement is filed.
NovoMira
16 years ago
El Paso CEO Earns $7.6M in 2007
Wednesday March 19
El Paso Chief Executive Douglas Foshee Earns $7.6 Million in 2007, 47 Percent More Than 2006
NEW YORK (AP) -- El Paso Corp. President and Chief Executive Douglas Foshee received about $7.6 million in compensation last year, a 47 percent increase from the previous year, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Wednesday. The natural-gas company paid Foshee, 48, a salary of $987,507, 4 percent higher than 2006. Foshee also received $1.5 million in performance-based bonus, about 8 percent higher than in the previous year.
His compensation included $166,399 in other compensation, or perks, up 52 percent from the year-ago total. That figure includes $97,313 in supplemental benefits, $10,125 in retirement savings contributions, $42,395 in aircraft expenses, $1,377 for a home-security system and $15,189 in tax reimbursements in those figures.
Foshe also received restricted stock and options awards valued by the company at $4.9 million on the days they were granted, 81 percent higher than the $2.7 million Foshee received in 2006.
Foshe received $781 in above-market returns on deferred compensation.
The Associated Press' total pay calculations include executives' salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.
The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the SEC.
El Paso's net income jumped to $1.11 billion, or $1.53 per share, last year from $475 million, or 64 cents per share, in 2006. Revenue increased to $4.65 billion from $4.28 billion.
Foshee has been president, CEO and a director of the Houston-based company since September 2003.
NovoMira
17 years ago
El Paso Reserves Rise 18 Percent
Wednesday February 20, 4:22 pm ET
El Paso Posts 18 Pct Higher Oil and Gas Reserves in '07; Reserve Replacement Rate of 252 Pct
HOUSTON (AP) -- El Paso Corp. said Wednesday its proved oil and natural-gas reserves rose 18 percent last year, boosted by an addition from its interest in Four Star Oil & Gas Co.
El Paso had 3.12 trillion cubic feet of oil equivalent on Dec. 31, compared with 2.42 billion a year earlier. Four Star contributed 256 billion cubic feet to the total.
The oil and gas company also said it replaced more than twice the consolidated reserves it used, posting a reserve-replacement rate of 252 percent.
El Paso's capital expenditures last year were $2.59 billion, including $1.18 billion for acquisitions.
El Paso shares rose 8 cents to $16.94 in afternoon trading.
NovoMira
17 years ago
El Paso says began Ruby Pipeline open season
Tue Feb 19, 2008
NEW YORK, Feb 19 (Reuters) - El Paso Corp (EP.N:) said on Tuesday it began taking binding commitments for its Ruby Pipeline and added long-term agreements with two shippers for capacity at the project.
The binding open season for the Ruby Pipeline, a 680-mile interstate natural gas transmission pipeline beginning at Wyoming and ending in Oregon, began Feb. 15 and will conclude April 18, El Paso said.
The long-term agreement with two additional shippers brings the total long-term capacity commitment on Ruby to 650 dekatherms per day, it said.
NovoMira
17 years ago
Natural Gas in Storage Fell Last Week
Thursday February 7, 10:40 am ET
Energy Dept. Report Says U.S. Natural Gas in Storage Fell by 200 Billion Cubic Feet Last Week
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Natural gas in storage in the U.S. fell last week and is 3.1 percent above the five-year average for this time of year, a government report said Thursday.
The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas inventories held in underground storage in the lower 48 states fell by 200 billion cubic feet to about 2.06 trillion cubic feet for the week ending Feb. 1.
The inventory level was above the five-year average of about 2 trillion cubic feet in underground storage, but below last year's storage level of roughly 2.38 trillion cubic feet, according to the government data.
In morning trading, natural gas for March delivery rose more than 8 cents to about $8.08 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
NovoMira
17 years ago
UPDATE 1-El Paso sees 2008 earnings below Wall Street view
Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:47am EST
(Adds details)
NEW YORK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Natural gas producer and pipeline company El Paso Corp (EP.N:) on Thursday forecast 2008 earnings from continuing operations below the average Wall Street estimate.
The company said it expects earnings of $1.00 to $1.10 per share. Analysts' average forecast is $1.14, according to Reuters Estimates.
Cash flow from operations is expected to be $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion. It expects to spend $3.4 billion on its capital program, El Paso said. "As we move into 2008, for the first time in many years El Paso has visible, multiyear growth in both of our core businesses," said Chief Executive Doug Foshee in a statement.
From 2007 to 2012, El Paso is targeting compound annual growth between 6 percent to 8 percent for its pipeline unit's earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and targeting production growth of 8 percent to 12 percent for its exploration and production unit.
NovoMira
17 years ago
El Paso Keeps Rising
El Paso Shares Keep Rising As Citigroup Analyst Raises Target, Estimates on Growth Potential
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors continued to buy up El Paso Corp. shares Tuesday as a second analyst cited a positive outlook for the natural-gas exploration and transmission company's growth prospects.
Shares of the Houston-based company rose 63 cents, or 3.7 percent, to $17.88 in morning trading. Its stock gained 26 cents Monday to close at $17.25.
Citigroup analyst Faisel Khan lifted his price target to $23 from $18.50 and raised estimates for El Paso in a note Monday evening. Khan expects $2.5 billion in new projects for El Paso, which operates the country's largest pipeline network, over the long term. He also cited greater expectations for El Paso's Pinuana oil discovery in Brazil and the completion of its master limited partnership's initial public offering last year.
While El Paso's shares have risen more than 10 percent since hitting recent lows in late November, Khan said those catalysts will enable further appreciation ahead.
The recent increase was "largely driven by a 'rising tide' commodity price increase rather than an actual fundamental understanding of the El Paso story," Khan wrote. "This gives us conviction that the stock continues to be undervalued at current levels."
Also on Monday, Wachovia Capital Markets analyst Samuel Brothwell upgraded El Paso shares to "Outperform" from "Market Perform." He also cited "multiple expansion opportunities" in 2008.
NovoMira
17 years ago
Florida Gas issues shipper alert due to cold
Mon Dec 17, 2007 1:35pm EST
NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Florida Gas Transmission on Monday issued a warning to natural gas shippers on its pipeline system due to cold weather forecast for North and Central Florida overnight. The company issued an overage alert at 25 percent tolerance, meaning shippers must stay within 25 percent of scheduled volumes in order to maintain system integrity, the company said in a Web site posting.
Alerts, also called critical days, require natural gas shippers to adhere carefully to scheduled quantities. An overage alert signals that taking excess quantities offline would be harmful.
Florida Gas regularly issues shipper alerts as temperatures in the state vary extremely from normal, boosting gas and power demand as customers crank up heaters in the winter and air conditioners in the spring and summer months.
The coldest temperatures so far this season have plunged into the Deep South and Florida, with freeze warnings in effect overnight in many areas of the Southeast, according to AccuWeather. With cold air spreading across the South, high temperatures will struggle to reach 60 degrees Fahrenheit Monday, with highs along the Florida Peninsula well below normal, reaching only the 50s F, the forecaster added.
The 5,000-mile Florida Gas Transmission system runs from southern Texas to southern Florida, with a mainline capacity of 2.3 billion cubic feet per day.
The line is owned by Citrus Corp., which is owned by Southern Union Co.'s (SUG.N) Panhandle Energy and El Paso Corp (EP.N:)
NovoMira
17 years ago
Natural Gas in Storage Fell Last Week
Thursday December 6
Energy Dept. Report Says U.S. Natural Gas in Storage Fell by 88 Billion Cubic Feet Last Week
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Natural gas in storage in the U.S. fell last week but is about 8.6 percent above the five-year average for this time of year, a government report said Thursday.
The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas inventories held in underground storage in the lower 48 states fell by 88 billion cubic feet to 3.44 trillion cubic feet for the week ending Nov. 30.
The inventory level was well above the five-year average of about 3.17 trillion cubic feet in underground storage, and ahead of last year's storage level of 3.41 trillion cubic feet, according to the government data.
In morning trading, natural gas for January delivery rose 22 cents to $7.41 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
NovoMira
17 years ago
UPDATE 1-El Paso Pipeline Partners IPO raises $500 mln
Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:14pm EST
(Adds use of proceeds, financial detail, background)
NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) - El Paso Pipeline Partners LP on Thursday raised $500 million with an initial public offering that priced in the middle of a forecast range.
The 25 million common unit offering sold for $20 per unit, compared with a $19 to $21 forecast range.
The master limited partnership (MLP) was formed by El Paso Corp (EP.N:) to own and operate natural gas transportation pipelines, storage and other midstream assets, according to an amended prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Underwriters, led by Lehman Brothers (LEH.N:), Citigroup (C.N:), Goldman Sachs (GS.N:) and UBS Securities (UBSN.VX:) (UBS.N:), have the option to purchase an additional 3.75 million shares to cover overallotments.
The company said it will use IPO proceeds to make a cash distribution and to repay a note payable to El Paso Corp and cover fees and expenses.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, it posted net income of $77 million, on total operating revenue of $97 million.
The company has applied to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "EPB" (EPB.N:).
MLPs are popular with energy companies, especially those that own infrastructure and pipeline, as a way to wring additional value out of assets.
The partnerships pay no corporate taxes and distribute nearly all of their profits to investors. But interest in MLPs has been rattled by the global credit crunch, leaving investors spooked by the notion that such partnerships are somewhat more reliant on capital markets to fund growth.
The Alerian Capital index (.AMZ:) of MLPs is up about 8 percent since January, but 10.5 percent below a midyear peak, with the index rising to 339 in July.
Earlier this month, independent exploration and production company Devon Energy Corp (DVN.N:) said it was canceling plans to form a MLP, citing the weaker market.
Energy companies Williams Companies Inc (WMB.N:) and Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC.N:) both have public offerings of MLPs in the works.
NovoMira
17 years ago
EIA Chief Says Oil Prices Will Fall
Wednesday November 14
By Dan Caterinicchia, AP Business Writer
EIA Chief Says Gasoline Prices Will Continue to Rise, but Oil Prices Will Fall in 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Oil prices are likely to fall at least another $10 a barrel by next year, a top Energy Department official said Wednesday, but he warned gasoline and heating oil prices will continue to rise in coming weeks.
Guy Caruso, chief of the Energy Department's statistical division, the Energy Information Administration, said prices are expected to retreat to around $80 per barrel next year based on assumptions about new supplies and limited growth in demand.
Since peaking at $98.62 a barrel last week, oil prices have retreated by about $5.
Still, the possibility of supply disruptions in Nigeria, Russia and beyond -- as well as the heavy speculative trading of oil futures on Wall Street -- is bound to keep prices volatile, Caruso said.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose $2.55 to $93.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday. A day earlier, they fell $3.45.
At the pump, though, Caruso said prices appear headed in one direction over the short-term: up. Caruso predicted gasoline prices, now averaging $3.11 a gallon nationwide, will rise another 10 cents a gallon by December. Another 15 cents a gallon jump would surpass May's all-time record of $3.23 a gallon.
Gas prices traditionally fall in the winter months as demand ebbs from summer highs, but oil prices flirting with record highs and low inventories have eliminated that seasonal trend this year.
Heating oil customers also will see a continued rise in costs this winter. The retail cost of a gallon of heating oil is expected to rise by about 25 percent from a year ago to an average of $3.05 a gallon, Caruso said during a press conference sponsored by the U.S. Energy Association.
Heating oil is used by 7 percent of American households, mostly in the Northeast, and is derived from crude, whose price has climbed 34 percent from a year ago, trading Wednesday near $94 per barrel.
Natural gas at the residential level, which is used by 58 percent of households, is forecast to increase in price by about 11 percent. For the 5 percent of American homes that use propane, winter heating costs are expected to be about 20 percent higher than last year, Caruso said.
NovoMira
17 years ago
El Paso: Pipeline, Drilling to Grow
Thursday October 4, 2:49 pm ET
El Paso Expects to Meet Natural Gas Target in 2007, Grow Pipeline Business As MLP
NEW YORK (AP) -- El Paso Corp. said Thursday it is "on track" to meet its natural-gas production target this year and that investors should expect further growth in its pipeline business and its drilling operations in Brazil.
El Paso reiterated its 2007 target of 820 to 860 million cubic feet of average daily oil equivalent production per day in a presentation its chief executive, Doug Foshee, gave to investors at a Deutsche Bank conference.
The company plans to start operating a limited partnership in the fourth quarter. El Paso Pipeline Partners LP will be involved in natural-gas asset acquisitions and filed an initial public offering of 25 million shares on Aug. 31.
El Paso has undergone a massive restructuring in the past few years, shedding billions in assets outside its pipeline and exploration and production businesses. It closed its acquisition of Peoples Energy Production Co. for $879.1 million in cash on Friday, adding to its inventory of drilling projects.
rayrohn
17 years ago
El Paso: Station Outage Halts Pipeline Deliveries -2-
Last update: 9/17/2007 2:38:48 PM
HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--An outage at El Paso Corp's (EP) Cheyenne Plains Compressor Station on Sunday has completely cut off deliveries on the Wyoming Interstate Company and Colorado Interstate Company gas pipelines, the company said in a Web posting Monday.
An analyst said gas futures traders on the New York Mercantile Exchange floor were viewing the outage as a potential threat to the amount of gas available to be injected into storage, driving futures prices higher.
"The primary impact potential depends on how long the primary outage is," a trader said. "It could affect injections into storage over next 30 days."
That idea was sending prices skyrocketing Monday afternoon. The front-month Nymex October natural gas futures contract was trading 33.3 cents higher, or more than 5%, at $6.610 a million British thermal.
Other market watchers said traders were "buying a rumor."
"In reality, it doesn't really have an impact," said a trader.
Shippers on those pipelines which run from Wyoming to Kansas include Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC), BP PLC (BP) and ConocoPhillips (COP), among a host of others, according to the company's Web site.
Equipment that enables gas to flow into the Cheyenne Plains pipeline was damaged, said Richard Wheatley, an El Paso spokesman.
At the time of the incident, approximately 780 million cubic feet per day of natural gas was being transported from the Cheyenne Hub into the Cheyenne Plains Pipeline, he added.
NovoMira
17 years ago
El Paso Raises Loss Estimate for Taxes
Tuesday September 4, 11:25 am ET
El Paso Sees Expects to Carry Forward Loss of $2.4B, Up From $1 Billion
WASHINGTON (AP) -- El Paso Corp. said Tuesday that it expects a net operating loss carry-forward for taxes of around $2.4 billion at the end of 2007, up from a previous estimate of $1 billion.
The pipeline operator and natural-gas producer is based in Houston.
The increase in the carry-forward, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, is mainly due to the filing of the company's 2006 federal tax return, the carry-over of capital losses from the sale of power assets that offset the gain on the sale of ANR Pipeline Co. and related assets, and a plan to expense intangible drilling costs for a production segment that are expected this year.
Net operating losses represent the excess of business expenses over income for a given tax year. A tax loss carry-forward is a tax benefit that allows a company to apply losses to reduce tax liability.
The company expects the projected carry-forward increases to be offset by the expected gain on the proposed initial public offering of its master limited partnership, which is scheduled for the fourth quarter.
Shares of El Paso rose 41 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $16.28 in early trading Tuesday.
Edit: EP closed up 53 cents - $16.43.
NovoMira
17 years ago
U.S. Natural Gas in Storage Grows
Thursday August 23
Energy Dept. Report Says U.S. Natural Gas in Storage Grew by 23 Billion Cubic Feet Last Week
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Natural gas in storage in the U.S. grew last week and is about 13 percent above the five-year average for this time of year, a government report said Thursday.
The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas inventories held in underground storage in the lower 48 states increased by 23 billion cubic feet to 2.93 trillion cubic feet for the week ending Aug. 17, compared with about 2.9 trillion cubic feet for the previous week.
The inventory level was above the five-year average of 2.59 trillion cubic feet in underground storage, and also above last year's storage level of 2.85 trillion cubic feet, according to the government data.
In morning trading, natural gas for September delivery rose 8.5 cents to $5.663 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.