Tuesday, June 24, 2014; Bullish Natural Gas Story With Regard To Mexico

Active rigs:

	6/24/2014	06/24/2013	06/24/2012	06/24/2011	06/24/2010
Active Rigs	190	185	210	170	122

RBN Energy: another great story and one that should make natural gas bulls happy -- the Mexican market for US natural gas will remain robust.

According to Mexico’s Secretaria de Energia (SENER), higher gas demand from Mexico's electric power and industrial sectors and increased US gas production caused gas exports to Mexico to double from 2009 to 2013 (when they averaged 1.8 Bcf/d), and gas exports are seen doubling again—to 3.8 Bcf/d in 2018.

More than 70% of the projected growth in Mexican gas demand will come from the electric power sector; that sector’s gas consumption is seen growing from 2.7 Bcf/d in 2012 to 6.1 Bcf/d in 2027, by which time gas-fired units and renewables are expected to dominate Mexican power generation.

The expectation that, despite its hopes of increasing domestic gas production, Mexico will import increasing amounts of US gas is made evident by the recently announced plan by Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) to develop five US-to-Mexico gas pipeline projects by the end of 2017 at a cost of more than $2.2 billion. 

US gas exports to Mexico also could be boosted by the possible development of LNG export capability along Mexico’s West Coast. Sempra LNG developed and since 2008 has operated Energia Costa Azul (ECA), an LNG terminal on the Pacific Ocean near Ensenada, Baja California that can import and process the LNG equivalent of 1 Bcf/d. Now Sempra LNG is not only exploring the possibility of adding liquefaction capability at ECA—that is, enabling ECA (the only LNG import terminal on the West Coast--to export LNG—it may develop a greenfield LNG liquefaction and export terminal on the eastern side of the Gulf of California. Sempra is already developing the Cameron LNG export terminal in Louisiana. Like Cameron, the Mexican LNG export facilities would source their gas from US shale plays.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have read here.

The Wall Street Journal

I guess this is why the new GOP House leader wants to do away with the Ex-Im Bank: rampant fraud.

A must-read: how Target lost its way under ousted CEO.

Home sales higher in May -- previously reported; an important story for the economy.

"US Supreme Court Backs Most EPA Carbon Controls." But with limits. Which opens the doors for continued litigation.

Two women crack top 10 in CFO pay: Oracle's Safra Catz, #1 with a package valued at almost $45 million; Accenture's Pamela Craig, #8.

The Los Angeles Times

The most interesting thing about The Times today are the stories not seen in the front section on-line: not one mention of the uncivil war in Iraq or the 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Alaska. Earthquakes always get the attention of Angelinos.  The uncivil war in Iraq is particularly interesting today in that the fight for the refinery still rages -- sort of Iraq's "LA freeway SUV chase."

********************************************

A Note to the Granddaughters

I htought the story was about lawyers. I was wrong. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that, despite global warming apparently, the great white shark population is surging. With global warming and acidification of the ocean, this was not supposed to happen. But it is.

"After decades of decline, the numbers of great white sharks are spiking according to a new study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration."