Midstream growth critical to expanding US natural gas supply, demand: execs

Platts.com

(Houston) While it is likely there will be more than enough US natural gas supply to meet demand, it is critical that the midstream sector make investments in needed takeaway capacity, energy company executives said Wednesday at IHS CERAWeek in Houston.
Both demand and production look set to increase, but there needs to be more spending infrastructure to ensure sustained higher prices in the future, Bill Maloney, executive vice president of development and production in North America for Statoil, said. “We believe North America has the capacity to supply far more natural gas than we are right now and at reasonable prices,” he said. “The biggest challenge is not…

ERCOT reserves expected to be tight when summer starts in Texas

Platts.com

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas expects to start the summer with tight reserves before an easing as new plants begin operations in late summer, according to reports released Wednesday.
ERCOT forecasts summer generation resources at 74,075 MW to serve an expected peak demand of 68,096 MW, which leaves a reserve capacity of 5,979 MW, according to the preliminary summer 2014 Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy released Wednesday.
ERCOT’s all-time record peak of 68,305 MW occurred on August 3, 2011 during the hottest summer on record.
“While we anticipate sufficient generation for summer, conditions may become tight — potentially requiring conservation measures to protect the grid — if we see extremely high demand during the…