USAEE 2012

Natural Gas Trading Strategy

By

One thing all commodity price forecasts have in common is they tend to be very poor at predicting what prices will be in the future, despite this being ostensibly their sole purpose. Many forecasts are based on past market activity, but this has not proven to be terribly effective at divining future price movements.

In this video from the US Association for Energy Economics conference recently held in Austin, Texas, Roger Stibolt, Managing Director at investment banking house Galway Group discusses some of the ways he approaches natural gas trading and price forecasting. Keep reading →

 /  Published January 2, 2013 at 9:00 AM

Five Ways to Forecast Natural Gas Market Activity

By

What’s the best way to analyze future natural gas price scenarios? Banks and hedge funds spend enormous amounts of time and money attempting to answer that question and there is no shortage of views on the subject.

In this video from the US Association of Energy Economics conference recently held in Austin, Texas, Robert Stibolt, Managing Director of the Galway Group – an investment banking firm – discusses five ways to obtain information about future natural gas prices and market fundamentals. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 28, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Russia’s Role in European Gas Pipeline Politics

By

The uncomfortable relationship between Russia and its biggest natural gas market – Europe – has been undergoing changes as European countries contemplate developing their indigenous shale gas resources and the divergence between oil and natural gas prices that has in turn strained the long held practice of oil-linked gas pricing outside of North America.

In this video from the recent US Association for Energy Economics conference Ariel Cohen, Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow discusses some of the emerging regional trends that are shaping future gas flow patterns and Russia’s role as gas supplier. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 27, 2012 at 11:15 AM

A ‘Different World of Natural Gas’

By

Many analysts and energy industry observers did not anticipate the impact unconventional gas and oil produced from tight deposits like shale would have on the industry. Technology and market fundamentals aligned to open vast reserves and facilitate production increases that caught many by surprise and are having wide ranging effects throughout the energy business and beyond.

This video from the recent US Association of Energy Economics conference features natural gas market experts discussing the shale gas phenomenon and what it means for everything from trading strategies to Russian production and export planning. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 26, 2012 at 3:00 PM

Shale Gas Storage Revolution Rooted in History

By

Does the US actually need more natural gas storage to accommodate rising production, or can it ‘finesse’ the storage it has to better balance shifting supply and demand fundamentals? The recent head of Ranger Midstream describes a revolutionary approach for a key sector in this video from a recent US Association for Energy Economics summit.

Storage is an essential but often unglamorous portion of what makes up a commodities market, and the history of the energy business – as is noted in this video – proves that storage access and storage infrastructure can impact outcomes for the more visible production and demand parts of the business. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 13, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Energy Demand Growth Set to Surge

By

While supply of energy commodities can often seem arcane, only noticeable to end consumers when prices rise or there is a supply disruption, demand is much more tactile and visible.

“Everyone wants to use as much plastic as we do,” notes Williams Energy senior executive David Darcey on this video shot at a recent summit of the US Association of Energy Economics, detailing rising US production of plastics, innovations in making steel using natural gas and heating oil conversions as parts of the puzzle in creating a rising market for natural gas production currently weighing on prices. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 11, 2012 at 3:00 PM

Oil Market Dynamics: Moving the Bakken Barrel

By

The refineries along the US East Coast sit close to some of the globe’s largest energy demand centers, but face such high prices for the crude they process that many have struggled to make money. Many import crude oil from Africa and the Middle East, and have been cut off from cheaper supply recently surging out of the middle and west of North America by limits on transportation infrastructure.

Companies like Enbridge, which presented recently at the US Association for Energy Economics, are seeking solutions to a bottleneck that is preventing lower-priced crude from competing on global or even national markets. Much oil currently travels by rail, as we’ve noted on Breaking Energy before, and may increasingly go multi-modal, from pipelines into rail cars and vice versa as it wends its way to energy-hungry Eastern US and Eastern Canadian markets. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 10, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Supply Shift Prompts Energy Forecast Revisions

By

For several years the focus of the energy sector has been on the supply side. A lingering economic recession has kept demand pressures from building across much of the sector – crude oil being an exception at times – and the notable surge in supply of natural gas and even domestically produced oil has turned analysis and forecasting to focus on the impacts of more supply.

That trend was in evidence at the US Association for Energy Economics summit in November in Austin, Texas, where panelists from companies including Williams, Enbridge and Ranger Midstream discussed the impact supply side revisions have had on their businesses. The significant opportunity to displace imported oil is highlighted by speakers here, noting the trend days before the release of an International Energy Agency report that forecast the US could become the single largest oil producer in the world. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 6, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Energy Economics: Dismal Science Deals with Good News

By


Economists tend to be very good at finding reasons things won’t go well, and it is part of their professional mission to detail and warn the many potential pitfalls for companies, governments and individuals facing a complex and uncertain world. So how does the profession of energy economics in North America deal with an unexpected outbreak of good news?

Rising production of oil and natural gas based on falling prices has made many of the anticipated problems with transitioning to a cleaner economy less immediately urgent, and despite the recent problems with the transmission grid and generation system exposed by Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast, the US has in large part navigated a period of low demand for electricity without a sharp slowdown in needed investment. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 8, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Conference Highlights: USAEE Closing

By

The 31st USAEE North American Conference held in Austin, Texas featured hundreds of presentations on topics like sustainable energy and the implications of North American natural gas developments.

Breaking Energy was there covering the event from beginning to end, as well as following the US presidential elections and Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts. The conference was attended by economist, analysts, industry professionals and students from around the US and around the world, who discussed dozens of topics relevant to all major energy sectors. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 8, 2012 at 8:30 AM
Page 1 of 3123