Appears

Optimism among North American natural gas and oil producers appears to be rising, with capital expenditures (capex) expected to jump overall by 12% in 2010 to $79 billion, Barclays Capital analysts said in their year-end 2009 survey. The biggest growth will come from an uptick in gas shale drilling.

In what appears to be yet another victory for the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in its efforts to curb speculative trading activity in the energy commodities markets, Barclays Bank plc announced Aug. 21 that it will temporarily suspend all additional issuances of its iPath Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Subindex Total Return Exchange Traded Notes (GAZ) until further notice. The bank chose to halt new share issuances “in light of current market dynamics and ongoing regulatory review.”

In what appears to be yet another victory for the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in its efforts to curb speculative trading activity in the energy commodities markets, Barclays Bank plc announced Friday morning that it will temporarily suspend all additional issuances of its iPath Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Subindex Total Return Exchange Traded Notes (GAZ) until further notice. The bank chose to halt new share issuances “in light of current market dynamics and ongoing regulatory review.”

A natural gas “renaissance” is under way, but the federal government appears not to have noticed, ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva said last week.

A “natural gas renaissance” is under way, but the federal government “appears not to have noticed,” ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva said Tuesday.

Private equity appears to be finding a home in some onshore natural gas plays after two more deals were struck last week.

Private equity appears to be finding a home in the Marcellus Shale after Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) became the second firm in two weeks to invest money in an Appalachian Basin producer. KKR will invest $350 million in privately held East Resources Inc., considered one of the most active players in the natural gas play.

The U.S. exploration and production (E&P) industry this year shows few signs of pulling out of its drilling decline, but the rapid and steep drop in natural gas and oil prices appears to be “near or at a trough,” Standard & Poor’s (S&P) said last week.

The U.S. exploration and production (E&P) industry this year shows few signs of pulling out of its drilling decline, but the rapid and steep drop in natural gas and oil prices appears to be “near or at a trough,” Standard & Poor’s (S&P) said Monday in an industry outlook.