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A bit of heating load may be creeping into cash market dynamics as overnight lows in the Rockies dip into the mid to upper 30s, and a few parts of the South may see a fair amount of power generation demand Thursday as highs around 90 are due in parts of Florida and the New Orleans area. Overall weather fundamentals remain on the light side for gas prices, but the market recorded increases at nearly all points Wednesday.

Pennsylvania environmentalists are pushing back on expedited permitting for gas drilling activity and pushing for a severance tax on the industry, which they said Wednesday would amount to only a “pinprick on the balance sheets” of exploration and production companies.

After coming within spitting distance on Monday of the $3.155 low for the move recorded on April 27, August natural gas futures rallied a bit on Tuesday as a fair amount of short-covering came into the market. The prompt-month contract gained 16.6 cents Tuesday to close at $3.429.

The increased amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the world is quickly developing a global market for natural gas and CME Group Inc. is looking to capture interested traders by creating new contracts that span the gap from the United States to the United Kingdom.

The increased amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the world is quickly developing a global market for natural gas and CME Group Inc. is looking to capture interested traders by creating new contracts that span the gap from the United States to the United Kingdom.

With substantive heating load retreating largely to the sparsely populated Upper Plains of the U.S. and western half of Canada, and only a modest amount of power generation demand for air conditioning having built up in the southern U.S. to replace it, most points fell Monday.

Drilling and production in traditional basins is falling off, but the amount of gas coming out of wells in shale areas is more than making up the difference, according to CenterPoint Energy CEO David M. McClanahan.

Drilling and production in traditional basins is falling off, but the amount of gas coming out of wells in shale areas is more than making up the difference, according to CenterPoint Energy CEO David M. McClanahan.

ExxonMobil Corp. boosted its proven reserves in 2008 by 1.5 billion boe, more than replacing the amount of oil and natural gas it produced. The Irving, TX-based major said reserves added totaled 103% of the resources it produced last year. ExxonMobil had 22.8 billion boe of reserves at year-end 2008, split evenly between natural gas and oil. Excluding asset sales, the producer replaced 110% of its output. Using the Dec. 31, 2008 oil and gas prices required by the Securities and Exchange Commission to make reserves calculations, ExxonMobil replaced 136% of its output, the company said. Prices from a single day, it said, are not useful for making long-term investment decisions. At the end of 2008, ExxonMobil’s proved reserves base increased to 22.8 billion boe. The company’s reserves life, at current production rates, is 15.3 years. The portion of proved reserves already developed was estimated at 62%.