'This is a new world for natural gas'

Claudia Cattaneo Financial Post CALGARY - Natural gas consumers should brace for a continuation of high natural gas prices, despite the commodity's recent price slide, the chief executive of Canada's largest natural gas producer said yesterday.

Gwyn Morgan of Alberta Energy Co. said natural gas has moved to a new floor price of US$4 per thousand cubic feet, or about twice as much as two years ago. He sees prices strengthening in the third and fourth quarters to about US$5.

"There is such a tight demand and supply situation for gas, there isn't a lot of gas around," he said, stressing that North America's cheap gas has been used up. "I don' think this is a cycle. This is a new world for natural gas."

While natural gas prices have weakened during the shoulder season between winter and summer, Mr. Morgan said there will be a considerable boost in demand with the coming of new power generation later this year.

Natural gas prices soared as high as US$10 per thousand cubic feet late last year, helping create an energy crisis in the U.S., which has included rolling blackouts in California.

http://www.nationalpost.com/financialpost/cadbusiness/story.html?f=/stories/20010619/thisisa.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), June 19, 2001