OPEC Meeting Can Affect Natural Gas Prices Too: Here's How

OPEC or the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries – the international cartel of oil producers – and its allies are scheduled to meet at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria today. As usual, the outcome of the gathering of the group's 15-member countries from the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and several other major producers, including Russia, is expected to have far-reaching implications for all involved in the oil trade – from retail stations to budgets of oil-dependent nations.

The meeting is aimed to discuss production strategy but assumes greater significance in the backdrop of oil prices recently sliding to their lowest in more than a year and Washington’s piling pressure to stop them from climbing.

But apart from crude oil, the OPEC summit also seem to have added a twist to the future direction of natural gas prices. This shouldn’t come as a surprise though, considering that associated gas from shale oil drillers constitute a major portion of the fuel's new production in the United States.

Natural Gas Surges 41% in November

Natural gas, which is used by consumers to heat their homes in winter, has climbed to four-year highs recently. Prices are up around 55% since the start of the year and soared 41% last month, making it the market’s best-performing commodity of November.

Natural gas recently broke the $4 per MMBtu mark for the first time since November 2014 with cooler weather conditions resulting in strong demand for the heating fuel. Despite skyrocketing production, natural gas entered the winter season with stockpiles at their lowest in 15 years. At 3.054 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), current natural gas inventories are 720 Bcf (19.1%) under the five-year average and 644 Bcf (17.4%) below the year-ago figure.

Having hit a four-year high of $4.837 per MMBtu recently, there is potential for further price gains with bulk of the winter heating season still to come.

How Will the OPEC Meeting Affect Gas Prices?

Odds are in favor of an oil production cut at the OPEC meeting. The cartel members and Russia are expected to commit to cutting output by 1 million-1.4 million barrels per day from October levels in an attempt to drain inventories and crude boost prices. Such an arrangement might probably prop up oil prices but as a consequence jump-start more shale drilling in the United States.

Often being a byproduct of oil production, more drilling by the shale industry will also lead to higher natural gas volumes. For example, there is a backlog of more than 3,600 Zacks Investment Research

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Written By: Zacks Investment Research