Natural Gas Falls as Forecasts Show Ike Missing Gulf Platforms

By Reg Curren

Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Natural gas futures fell for the first time in five days after forecasts showed that Hurricane Ike will cross the Gulf of Mexico south of energy-producing areas responsible for about 14 percent of U.S. output.

Ike's projected course shifted to a path that would take it to south Texas, the National Hurricane Center said. About 64 percent of offshore gas production is still shut because of Hurricane Gustav, which made landfall in Louisiana last week, according to the Minerals Management Service.

``The decline is mostly the move on the track, though being down $2 a barrel on crude isn't going to help the cause either,'' said Cameron Horwitz, an analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey in Houston.

Natural gas for October delivery fell 36.2 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $7.165 per million British thermal units at 9:23 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The heating and industrial fuel has declined 47 percent since hitting a 30-month closing high of $13.577 per million Btu on July 3.

Crude oil fell in New York after Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, said supplies are sufficient to meet demand, signaling that OPEC may maintain production levels when it meets today.

Oil declined $2.01, or 1.9 percent, to $104.33 a barrel.

Ike was a Category 1 storm on the 5 step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity, with sustained winds of 80 miles (130 kilometers) per hour, the Miami-based Hurricane Center said in an 8 a.m. bulletin. The storm is now about 40 miles south of Havana and may regain strength after it reaches the Gulf.

``The more southerly track toward southern Texas will keep a large majority of the energy region out of harm's way,'' said Jim Rouiller, a senior energy meteorologist with Planalytics Inc., a forecaster based in Wayne, Pennsylvania, whose clients include oil and gas companies.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita damaged offshore production and pipelines in August and September 2005, sending gas futures to a record $15.78 per million Btu the following December.

To contact the reporter on this story: Reg Curren in Calgary at rcurren@bloomberg.net