Natural Gas – Energy content, statistics and pricing

Quantities of natural gas are measured in normal cubic meters (corresponding to 0°C at 101.325 kPa) or in standard cubic feet (corresponding to 60 °F (16 °C) and 14.73 PSIA). The gross heat of combustion of one normal cubic meter of commercial quality natural gas is around 39 megajoules (?10.8 kWh), but this can vary by several percent.

The price of natural gas varies greatly depending on location and type of consumer. In 2007, a price of $7 per 1,000 cubic feet (28 m3) was typical in the United States. The typical caloric value of natural gas is roughly 1,000 BTU per cubic foot, depending on gas composition. This corresponds to around $7 per million BTU, or around $7 per gigajoule. In April 2008, the wholesale price was $10 per 1,000 cubic feet (28 m3) ($10/MMBTU). The residential price varies from 50% to 300% more than the wholesale price. At the end of 2007, this was $12-$16 per 1,000 cu ft (28 m3). Natural gas in the United States is traded as a futures contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Each contract is for 10,000 MMBTU (gigajoules), or 10 billion BTU. Thus, if the price of gas is $10 per million BTU’s on the NYMEX, the contract is worth $100,000.

United Kingdom

Natural gas is also traded as a commodity in Europe, principally at the United Kingdom NBP and related European hubs, such as the TTF in the Netherlands.

Rest of the world

In the rest of the world, LNG (liquified natural gas) and LPG (liquified petroleum gas) is traded in metric tons or mmBTU as spot deliveries. Long term contracts are signed in metric tons. The LNG and LPG is transported by specialized transport ships, as the gas is liquified at cryogenic temperatures. The specification of each LNG/LPG cargo will usually contain the energy content, but this information is in general not available to the public.

United States

In US units, one standard cubic foot of natural gas produces around 1,028 British Thermal Units (BTU). The actual heating value when the water formed does not condense is the net heat of combustion and can be as much as 10% less.

In the United States, retail sales are often in units of therms (th); 1 therm = 100,000 BTU. Gas meters measure the volume of gas used, and this is converted to therms by multiplying the volume by the energy content of the gas used during that period, which varies slightly over time. Wholesale transactions are generally done in decatherms (Dth), or in thousand decatherms (MDth), or in million decatherms (MMDth). A million decatherms is roughly a billion cubic feet of natural gas.

In 2008, natural gas was $22.25 per 1 million BTUs.

Source: http://NatunaIslands.com, Natural Gas Information Center

Oil prices drop below $129 in Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Oil prices held steady below $129 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after dropping more than $3 in the previous session on a growing sense that soaring prices have cut demand for gasoline and other fuel.

The normally busy summer driving season in the U.S. kicked off with the just-ended Memorial Day weekend, and some analysts are predicting that data will show it had a lackluster start.

“It definitely was lower than (previous) Memorial Day weekends,” said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J.

U.S. Energy Department data covering the weekend won’t be released until next week.

The United States is the world’s largest energy consumer in terms of total use, and fluctuations in demand there can have an outsized impact on international oil prices. Also, since Americans are particularly reliant on their cars dues to a lack of mass transport in all but a few cities and they have to drive longer distances to their jobs, their consumption of gasoline is closely watched.

Midday in Singapore, light, sweet crude for July delivery was up 6 cents at $128.91 a barrel in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $3.34 to settle at $128.85 a barrel Tuesday, the first day of trade after the Memorial Day holiday.

Tuesday’s drop was oil’s biggest one-day decline since March 31. The front-month contract is now more than $6 off its all-time peak of $135.09 a barrel reached last Thursday.

The decline came in the face of supply problems in Mexico and Nigeria that could have driven oil prices higher. That’s an indication that demand concerns are weighing on the market and giving investors reason to pull back from the record high oil prices, analysts said.

Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research Inc. in Winchester, Mass., said he thinks energy investors are selling on recent data showing that Americans are driving less due to high prices. That includes weekly Energy Department reports that show gasoline demand is falling and Federal Highway Administration data showing Americans drove fewer miles in March.

“If present trends continue, we could be heading for the first annual drop in gasoline consumption in some 17 years,” said Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global UK Ltd., in a research note.

Oil prices were also pressured Tuesday by the dollar, which gained ground against the euro. Investors who buy commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation when the dollar falls tend to sell when the greenback strengthens. Also, a rising dollar makes oil more expensive to overseas investors.

Investors shrugged off a number of events that could have sent oil prices higher, including news that crude oil production in Mexico fell 13 percent in April compared to the previous year, the temporary shutdown of a North Sea oil platform and the latest in a spate of oil-pipeline bombings in Nigeria.

Investors also ignored continued strength in heating oil futures, which have over the last month helped send crude oil smashing through a string of new record highs. Distillate supplies worldwide are seen as strained due to strong demand for diesel from Europe and Asia.

In other Nymex trading, June heating oil futures fell 0.11 cent to $3.7981 a gallon while gasoline futures fell 0.53 cent to $3.3777 a gallon. Natural gas futures fell 1.9 cents to $11.782 per 1,000 cubic feet.

July Brent crude was flat at $128.31 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

News Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/05/28/oil.prices.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText

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http://NatunaIslands.com, Oil and Natural Gas Information Center