Speakers at Northeast Gas LDC Forum Chart Future of Northeast Supply, Demand, and Pipeline Expansion to Serve Capacity-Capped New England Region

摘要

On June 15-17, the Northeast LDC Gas Forum convened in Boston for a multi-speaker program that afforded a close look at the challenges specific to New England in obtaining access to adequate and consistently affordable natural gas supplies - despite the bounty of production in the relatively nearby Marcellus and Utica shale regions. The well- attended gathering also heard from the mix of national industry analysts, corporate leaders, pipeline representatives, and gas buyers about broader trends in the oil and gas industry as well as the impacts of increasing LNG infrastructure. The recurrent topics were: (1) whether a wave of new pipeline projects currently being planned or constructed will ease constraints and elevated prices plaguing the New England gas market; and (2) whether the surprisingly low price environment in mid-2015 for Northeast and, more generally, U.S. gas producers will significantly curb production -- if so, to what extent will market prices rebound in the second half of the year and going forward.