Natural Gas Stockpiles Shrink - Analyst Blog
27 Noviembre 2012 - 7:34AM
Zacks
The U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release showed a
larger-than-expected decrease in natural gas supplies on account of
the advent of cold weather that prompted the commodity’s
brisk use for space heating by residential/commercial consumers.
The storage withdrawal – the second for the winter heating season –
has also cut the surplus relative to the last year and the
five-year average.
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 like Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC),
Chesapeake Energy (CHK), Encana
Corp. (ECA), Devon Energy Corp. (DVN),
Nabors Industries (NBR), Patterson-UTI
Energy (PTEN), Helmerich & Payne (HP)
and Halliburton Company (HAL).
Analysis of the Data
Stockpiles held in underground storage in the lower 48 states fell
by 38 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ended November 16,
2012, higher than the guided range (of 23–27 Bcf gain) as per the
analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of
McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. (MHP).
The decrease represents the second withdrawal of the 2012-2013
winter heating season after stocks hit an all-time high in early
November. More importantly, the weekly storage draw has trimmed the
surplus relative to the benchmarks.
But in spite of the ‘better-than-expected’ draw during the past
week, the current storage level – at 3.873 trillion cubic feet
(Tcf) – is up 24 Bcf (0.6%) from the last year and 168 Bcf (4.5%)
over the five-year average.
In fact, natural gas inventories in underground storage have
persistently exceeded the five-year average since late September
last year and ended the usual summer stock-building season of April
through October at a record 3.923 Tcf (as of October 31, 2012).
A supply glut kept the natural gas prices under pressure during the
past year or so, as production from dense rock formations (shale) –
through novel techniques of horizontal drilling and hydraulic
fracturing – remains robust, thereby overwhelming demand.
However, with the upcoming U.S. winter set to be colder than the
unusually warm last one and domestic output likely to drop in 2013
versus 2012 on the back of natural gas players announcing
drilling/volume curtailments, we might expect some balancing of the
commodity’s supply/demand disparity.
This, in turn, could improve the prices and buoy natural gas
producers like Ultra Petroleum Corp. (UPL),
Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM), Encana and
Chesapeake.
Zacks Rank
Among the natural gas-associated companies mentioned above,
Halliburton retains a Zacks #4 Rank, which translates into a
short-term Sell rating.
The other names are all Zacks #3 Rank (Hold) stocks, implying that
these are expected to perform in line with the broader U.S. equity
market over the next one to three months.
ANADARKO PETROL (APC): Free Stock Analysis Report
CHESAPEAKE ENGY (CHK): Free Stock Analysis Report
DEVON ENERGY (DVN): Free Stock Analysis Report
ENCANA CORP (ECA): Free Stock Analysis Report
HALLIBURTON CO (HAL): Free Stock Analysis Report
HELMERICH&PAYNE (HP): Free Stock Analysis Report
MCGRAW-HILL COS (MHP): Free Stock Analysis Report
NABORS IND (NBR): Free Stock Analysis Report
PATTERSON-UTI (PTEN): Free Stock Analysis Report
TALISMAN ENERGY (TLM): Free Stock Analysis Report
ULTRA PETRO CP (UPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
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