Winter may heat up natural gas prices
Winter may heat up natural gas prices
By Markus Ermisch / Sun Media
August, 27, 2009
Finance Minister Iris Evans says she’s not relying on winter to give depressed natural gas prices a boost, but chances are that at this point, Jack Frost is the government’s best friend.
Alberta’s government, in yesterday’s budget update, lowered its forecast for the price of natural gas to $3.75 per gigajoule, a cut of $1.75 from the forecast included in April’s provincial budget. Natural gas royalties for the fiscal year are now estimated at $1.9 billion, $1.8 billion lower than the budget estimate.
The government also adjusted the average oil price to $61 US a barrel, up from the $55.50 US contained in the budget. The higher oil price is offset by an appreciating loonie, and oil royalties are now forecast to drop $333 million to $1.9 billion.