Absence

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has asked state legislators, who this week are working through an extended budget session, to come up with an additional $2 million to pay for additional oil and gas inspectors at the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

High domestic production, mild weather and the absence of significant hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico have contributed to the decline in Henry Hub spot natural gas prices, as well as a large inventory build, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook for November.

High domestic production, mild weather and the absence of significant hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico have contributed to the decline in Henry Hub spot natural gas prices, as well as a large inventory build, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook for November.

The absence of La Nina and El Nino in the equatorial Pacific Ocean this year has made predicting seasonal weather patterns more challenging, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Thursday. Based on other climate patterns, forecasters now expect this year’s winter season to be warmer than normal across the central part of the nation with dryer conditions to continue in the Southeast.

Due to a drop of a little more than a quarter by October futures a day earlier and the continued absence of significant weather-based demand in most areas, cash prices fell across the board Thursday.

Despite an absence of $5 billion-plus mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the oil and gas patch, overall deal activity is rebounding on the strength of mid-size deal flow driven largely by onshore resource plays and offshore Gulf of Mexico (GOM) economics, according to analysts at Raymond James & Associates Inc.

Uniform direction of price movement returned to the spot market Tuesday after a lengthy absence. Quotes rose across the board, with only one point failing to realize a double-digit advance. The gains were based primarily on a warm spell in the Northeast and the previous day’s 29-cent increase by the October futures contract, which will see its last day of trading Wednesday.

Williams credited strong results in all of its core gas businesses and the absence of a $248.7 million litigation charge in 2Q2006 for substantially improved second quarter results. Net income was $433.1 million (71 cents/share) compared with a net loss of $76 million (-13 cents/share) in 2Q2006.

Williams credited strong results in all of its core gas businesses and the absence of a $248.7 million litigation charge in 2Q2006 for substantially improved second quarter results. Net income was $433.1 million (71 cents/share) compared with a net loss of $76 million (-13 cents/share) in 2Q2006.