Daily News Energy Headlines from December 14, 2015

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News highlights gathered by Industrial Info and IIR Energy (Sugar Land, Texas) dealing with the energy markets.

NATURAL GAS
U.S. Natural Gas Futures at 13-Year Low - After three days of price declines and forecasts calling for warmer weather across much of the country, U.S. natural gas futures dipped below $1.90 per British thermal units today, marking the lowest price in 13 years.

LNG
Cheniere Energy Chief Souki Steps Down - Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) CEO Charif Souki is stepping down as the company's CEO as activist investor Carl Icahn makes his influence felt. Board member Neal Shear will act as interim CEO.

CRUDE OIL
Crude Oil Continues Decline - WTI futures dipped below $35 per barrel on Monday as Iran readies for exports next year, Libyan peace talks gained ground, and no end seems in sight for the current glut.

How Long Can U.S. Producers Hold Up as OPEC Wages a War for Market Share? - Thirteen months ago, after ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) refused to cut production to prop up global crude-oil prices, crude-oil prices fell sharply and concerns were raised that this was the beginning of the end for the U.S. shale revolution. The conventional wisdom was that extracting oil and gas from shale formation is an expensive proposition that may not be economically viable in a prolonged, low-price environment. Whether the per-barrel trigger point was $60, $50 or $40, many analysts, consultants and corporate executives publicly fretted that the bloom was off the rose, all the easy money had been made and the industry's best days were behind it.

FINANCIAL
Shell: China Okays BG Merger - Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS-A) (The Hague, Netherlands) reports that China's regulators have given the green light to the company's proposed merger with BG Group, clearing the final key regulatory hurdle to the merger. Shell says it expects to cut 2,800 jobs once the deal is final.

Encana Slashes Captial Spending - Canadian oil and gas producer Encana Corporation (NSYE:ECA) (Calgary) says that it will reduce capital spending to between $1.5 billion and $1.7 billion in 2016, down from $2.2 billion this year.

POWER
Southern Announces Windfarm Startup - Southern Company (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia) has announced that its subsidiary Southern Power's 299-megawatt windfarm in Kay County, Oklahoma, is now fully operational.

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About Industrial Info
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.