|
The April natural gas exchange contract rose $0.031on Friday in a lethargic trading session as energy traders waited for the weekend weather updates to be published waiting for the next clue on what strategies they might want to entertain besides selling more wholesale contracts and adding to their already “short” positions. This morning, the April contract is down over $0.07 as colder than normal weather continues to be absent in the Midwest and some parts of the Northeast.
On the World front this morning, Petroleum Intelligence Weekly said that Saudi Arabia produced almost 9.4 mbpd last month which was well above the 8.05 mbpd OPEC quota. The Saudi’s have continued to say they will fill any needs left by the loss of Libyan crude but many traders and industry people feeling that their spare capacity is mostly heavier sour grades and cannot meet the specifications for the Libyan sweet grades that are required. On the drilling front, weekly Baker Hughes rotary rig count report showed that oil rigs were up 18 to 801 and this compares with 456 a year ago. Gas rigs down 7 to 899 and compares with 926 a year ago.
On the efficiency front this morning, in Stockton, California, city officials hope to improve the energy efficiency of 8,500 homes which is nearly 10 percent of Stockton's homes over the next three years, under a draft ordinance set to go before the City Council this month. In this ordinance, a voluntary plan takes the place of an earlier proposal that would have required potentially expensive energy audits whenever homes are sold. The compromise -- called "Green-Up Stockton", seeks an average 25-percent reduction in energy use for the thousands of retrofitted homes built prior to November 2002. If the goals aren't met, then new mandatory energy audits would kick in. Working in the city's favor are existing programs that already are helping people retrofit their old, drafty homes. For example, a county program provides caulking, weather stripping and other services for elderly residents. Those retrofitting efforts, and others, will count toward the overall goal of 8,500 homes.
In the state of Kansas, Garden city utility customers are now eligible for low-cost energy audits and no-interest loans they can use to begin making energy-saving improvements to their homes and businesses, thanks to a statewide program. This program known as “Efficiency Kansas”, the $34 million loan program will help assist residents in financing energy efficiency improvements to their homes or small businesses and this will be done by paying no interest through their city utility bills. Beginning this month, Garden City utility customers are eligible for a $100 energy audit, subsidized by the state energy office and completed by a certified energy auditor from the area. An energy audit -- which can cost upwards of $600, is a thorough assessment of the property and is the key to identifying improvements such as insulation and weather-stripping needs that will provide residents with the greatest comfort and utility cost-saving according to the statewide program’s coordinator. Garden City is the second largest of 18 municipal partners across the state to join the Efficiency Kansas program since its inception in 2009.
|
