Sam Fletcher
Senior Writer
HOUSTON, Feb. 6 -- Energy futures prices were mixed Thursday, with gasoline leading the market after ChevronTexaco Corp.'s 295,000 b/d refinery in Pascagoula, Miss., suffered a partial power outage early Wednesday.
The power outage began at 3:15 a.m. CST Wednesday, and power was restored in less than 24 hours, said company officials.
A catalytic reformer at Shell Deer Park Refining Co.'s 333,800 b/d facility at Deer Park, Tex., outside of Houston, returned to normal operation early Thursday, after being shut down Tuesday for unplanned maintenance.
Disruptions at several US refineries for planned or unplanned maintenance have pushed up gasoline futures prices recently. US gasoline inventories currently are lower than normal, and crude stocks are at historically low levels.
Energy prices
Gasoline for March delivery bumped up by 2.01¢ to $1.0058/gal Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. However, heating oil for the same month dipped by 0.75¢ to 88.22/gal.
The March contract for benchmark light, sweet crudes slipped by 2¢ to $33.08/bbl Thursday on NYMEX, while the April contract advanced by 18¢ to $32.17/bbl. On the US spot market Thursday, West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Okla., lost 5¢ to $33.08/bbl.
The March natural gas contract plunged by 25.4¢ to $5.40/Mcf on NYMEX as market concerns over moderate weather forecasts and tapering demand outweighed a bullish report Thursday by the US Energy Information Administration of 236 bcf of natural gas withdrawn underground storage during the week ended Jan. 30. That was the largest draw so far this season and well above previous estimates by Wall Street analysts (OGJ Online, Feb. 5, 2004).
"Despite the unexpectedly large inventory draws over the last 2 weeks, storage levels are still relatively high," said analysts Friday at Enerfax Daily. "But support for the summer months reflected longer-term bullish concerns about declining production, flat imports from Canada, and a recovering economy that could mean more industrial demand."
In London, the March contract for North Sea Brent oil increased by 39¢ to $29.27/bbl Thursday on the International Petroleum Exchange. Gas oil for February delivery declined by $4.25 to $247.50/bbl. The March contract for natural gas gained 8.8¢ to the equivalent of $4.07/Mcf on IPE.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of seven benchmark crudes lost 35¢ to $28.20/bbl Thursday.
Contact Sam Fletcher at [email protected]
