Natural gas flows and market dynamics are shifting at national benchmark Henry Hub. Supply receipts at Henry this year to date have doubled since the comparable period last year to nearly 450 MMcf/d, on average. That’s also a five-fold increase from the same period in 2016. In fact, current gas flows through the hub are the highest we’ve seen since 2009. The last time we saw this level of flows through the hub was when Gulf of Mexico offshore gas production volumes — much of which hit the U.S. pipeline system in southern Louisiana — were still topping 6.0 Bcf/d. That was also before the Marcellus/Utica Shale gas supply ballooned, effectively emptying out the pipeline capacity that used to flow gas north from the Gulf Coast. Now, many of those pipelines have reversed flows and the hub is showing signs of becoming a destination market for that Northeast gas and other supply targeting LNG export demand on the Gulf Coast. Today, we continue our short series looking at the changing physical flows at Henry Hub.
In Part 1 of this series, we reviewed the role that Henry Hub — located in Vermillion Parish, LA — has played in the U.S. gas market historically — as a liquid national benchmark and delivery point for futures contracts and physical trades, but one that does not see a lot of physical gas flows. In the physical market, Henry gas volumes change hands innumerable times in a single trading day but, more often than not, only on paper using a unique title transfer mechanism called Intra-Hub Transfer (IHT). Similarly, in the futures market, while the CME/NYMEX Henry Hub natural gas futures contract is grounded by the physical assets in Henry, contract settlements rarely end in physical delivery. Thus, overall, the volume of physical flows of gas through the hub has always been disproportionately much lower than traded volumes, whether in the futures or physical market. Not only that, but as Figure 1 below illustrates, until a couple of years ago, physical flows through the hub were at the bottom of a prolonged decline trend that goes back at least a decade.
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About the song
"Roll With Me Henry" was written by Etta James, Johnny Otis, and Hank Ballard, and recorded in late 1954 for Modern Records in Los Angeles by Etta James (who was sixteen at the time). When released as a single, it rose to the top of the R&B charts for four weeks in February 1955. The record was produced by Johnny Otis, who is also responsible for Jamesetta Hawkins changing her name to the simpler Etta James.
The male vocal responses on "Roll With Me Henry" are done by Richard Berry, the man who wrote and recorded the original version of "Louie, Louie."
The title of “Roll With Me Henry” was changed to "The Wallflower," because D.J.’s were afraid the original title would be too risqué to say on the air (although it is sung throughout the song). The song was recorded as a response to an earlier hit penned by Hank Ballard, "Work With Me Annie," made popular by his group The Midnighters. Ballard later responded with two "answer to the answer" songs: "Henry's Got Flat Feet (Can't Dance No More)" and "Annie Had A Baby & Can't Work No More," also recorded by The Midnighters.
In late 1955, “Roll With Me Henry” was reworked with tidied-up lyrics and a new title — "Dance With Me Henry" — and released by pop singer Georgia Gibbs. That version rose to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Etta's original version of would later appear in the films, Sister Act and Back To The Future.
Etta James's long career in rhythm & blues and rock & roll would continue until her passing in 2012. She has won six Grammy Awards, seventeen Blues Hall of Fame Awards, a BMI Lifetime Achievement Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. Many artists have covered her vast catalog of songs over the years.
