Canada gas exports to U.S. could plunge

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – Canadian natural gas exports to the United States could post the largest drop in a generation in 2007, an analyst says, as exploration cuts reduce supply and home-grown demand to fuel oil sands output booms.

Martin King, who follows energy commodities at FirstEnergy Capital, a Calgary investment bank, expects exports to fall by up to a billion cubic feet a day next year, down about 10 percent from current shipments around 10 billion cubic feet a day.

“The supply picture is looking rather negative,” King said. “You have to go back to 1984 to see a (similar) downward trend.”

King speculated the cut in exportable gas will come on both the supply and demand side.

Reuters