Natural gas consumption has become more weather dependent. Industrial demand has declined since 2000 and demand from the power sector has grown. Changes in short- and long-range weather forecasts can move oil and gas markets.
Issues to monitor:
Temperature deviations from normal can influence demand for natural gas. For example, a warmer-than-normal summer will cause power generators to operate more natural gas-fired power generation equipment. Also, when the winter is colder-than-normal, more natural gas will be used for space heating.
Hurricane activity has had a significant impact on oil and gas supplies during the past two summers. When a hurricane enters the Gulf of Mexico, operators begin to shut-in production in preparation for personnel evacuations. If the path of a strong hurricane goes through oil and gas fields or onshore oil and gas handling facilities, damage to the infrastructure can cause extended production losses.
Apache's Weekly Energy Perspective is a weekly publication with topics, summaries and statistics at a glance designed to keep you updated on the latest industry events.
