The U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release showed a
larger-than-expected decrease in natural gas supplies on account
of cold temperatures across the Midwest and Northeast parts of
the country. Despite this drawdown, gas stocks continue to remain
bloated, reflecting low demand amid robust onshore output.
About the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report
The Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report - brought out by the Energy
Information Administration (EIA) every Thursday since 2002 -
includes updates on natural gas market prices, the latest storage
level estimates, recent weather data and other market activities
or events.
The report provides an overview of the level of reserves and
their movements, thereby helping investors understand the
demand/supply dynamics of natural gas. It is an indicator of
current gas prices and volatility that affect businesses of
natural gas-weighted companies and related support plays.
Analysis of the Data
Stockpiles held in underground storage in the lower 48 states
fell by 145 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ended Mar 08,
2013, higher than the guided range (of 133-137 Bcf drawdown) as
per the analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm
of
McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.
(
MHP
) .
The decrease represents the 16th withdrawal of the 2012-2013
winter heating season after stocks hit an all-time high in early
November last year. Moreover, the draw was significantly higher
than both the last year's withdrawal of 66 Bcf and the five-year
(2008-2012) average reduction of 74 Bcf for the reported week.
Following the past week's reduction, the current storage level -
at 1.938 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) - is down 440 Bcf (18.5%) from
the last year but is still 198 Bcf (11.4%) above the five-year
average.
In fact, natural gas inventories in underground storage have
persistently exceeded the five-year average since late Sep 2011
and ended the usual summer stock-building season of April through
October at a record 3.923 Tcf (as of Oct 31, 2012).
A supply glut kept the natural gas prices under pressure during
the couple of years or so, as production from dense rock
formations (shale) - through novel techniques of horizontal
drilling and hydraulic fracturing - remain robust, thereby
overwhelming demand.
However, with the U.S. winter colder than the unusually warm last
one, we are experiencing some balancing of the commodity's
supply/demand disparity on the back of its more normalized use
for space heating by residential/commercial consumers.
This, in turn, could improve the prices and buoy natural gas
producers, particularly smaller players like
Quicksilver Resources Inc.
(
KWK
),
Linn Energy LLC
(
LINE
) and
Forest Oil Corp.
(
FST
). With an improvement in the companies' ability to generate
positive earnings surprises, they can then move higher from their
current Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
FOREST OIL CORP (FST): Free Stock Analysis
Report
QUICKSILVER RES (KWK): Free Stock Analysis
Report
LINN ENERGY LLC (LINE): Free Stock Analysis
Report
MCGRAW-HILL COS (MHP): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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