As temperatures rose into the mid 20s on Thursday in Oklahoma, gas supplies eased too along with a dramatic and historic plunge in natural gas prices. Reports indicate spot prices on gas dropped 99%.
By Thursday, the gas supply for next-day delivery at the ONEOK Gas Transportation hub in the state traded at $4 per million BTU, down from the $1,250 reported on Wednesday.
Earlier in the week, gas producers had experienced freezeoffs where moisture in the gas lines froze amidst historic temperatures that dropped below zero across much of the state. The lack of natural gas hit the electric-power producers in Oklahoma and as a result, the Southwest Power Pool ordered rolling electrical blackouts.
Fuel production improved along with temperatures and in just one day, there was an historic reversal of the spot price of natural gas.
Natural gas futures fell more than 4% in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange as March natural gas dropped 14 cents to $3.03 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Source: Bloomberg
