Canadian natural gas exports post third successive loss

Canadian natural gas exports to the United States fell for the third straight time in the contract year ended Oct. 31, 2004, the National Energy Board reported.

Volumes totaled 3.54 trillion cubic feet, off 0.2 percent from the 3.55 tcf in 2002-03 and 300 billion cubic feet below the 2000-01 record.

Revenues posted a 3 percent decline to C$24.98 billion, down C$780 million from 2002-03 and average export prices dropped by 2.9 percent to C$6.52 per gigajoule from the previous year’s C$6.71.

The largest markets for Canadian gas were the Midwest, which took 1.61 tcf, up 2.1 percent from 1.58 tcf in 2002-03, while shipments to the Northeast slipped by 3.1 percent to 1.11 tcf.

For the 10 months of the 2004 calendar year, exports grew by 1.7 percent to 2.93 tcf, but revenues were down by C$410 million for the period to C$21.51 billion, reflecting a decline in average prices to C$6.66 per gigajoule from C$6.91.

—Gary Park