With this year's hurricane season drawing to a close, reality must be dawning on market bulls that supply-curtailing storm damage isn't going to blunt burgeoning North American natural gas production, now around 69.5 billion cubic feet per day.In late July, analysts were still eyeing the coming peak of activity and factoring in anticipated losses from at least one major storm in the Central US Gulf of Mexico (NGW Aug.1'11). Among them was Dan Lippe of Petral Consulting, who like most analysts raised his estimated average price for 2011 given the extraordinarily hot summer and the potential for Gulf shut-ins. But while the tropical season has been active, the only major hurricane to impact the US shot up the East Coast - a very load-dampening event - and none have wrought Katrina-like havoc on Gulf energy infrastructure.
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