Appears

The $10-12 billion omnibus lands package, which would remove millions of acres of public lands as prospects for potential oil and natural gas development, appears to be stuck in the House over procedural issues.

The $10-12 billion omnibus lands package, which would remove millions of acres of public lands as prospects for potential oil and natural gas development, appears to be stuck in the House over procedural issues.

Natural gas development appears to have negatively affected the population size and distribution of wintering mule deer in southwestern Wyoming, but mitigation by producers may be succeeding, a seven-year study has concluded.

Natural gas development appears to have negatively affected the population size and distribution of wintering mule deer in southwestern Wyoming, but mitigation by producers may be succeeding, a seven-year study has concluded.

It appears the natural gas bulls aren’t even allowed to hold on to a shred of price rebound hope as the recent signs of a firming crude futures market were proved incorrect Tuesday by a more than $4/bbl drop. Faced with the economic recession, plenty of gas and a forecasted warm-up in temperatures, February natural gas futures traded a slim 12.8-cent range before closing at $4.503, up 1.3 cents from Monday’s finish.

Extreme cold in the East finally translated into a stout natural gas storage withdrawal report, but it appears some traders were expecting an even larger number as near-month natural gas futures fell following the 10:30 a.m. EST report Friday. The February contract put in a new low for this downtrend on Friday before closing at $4.518, down 16.3 cents from Thursday’s finish and 28.3 cents lower than the previous week’s close.

Marathon Oil Corp.’s decision to expand into key resource plays in North America appears to be paying off, with the company ramping up a 15-25 natural gas well program in a new prospect in the Woodford Shale, which eventually could yield 200-300 drilling locations.

The surge in natural gas drilling that has transformed Colorado’s landscape and plumped its coffers appears headed for a plateau as producers cut back spending and reduce rig counts for a variety of reasons: lower gas prices, credit market turmoil, limited pipeline capacity and the possibility of more stringent state regulations.

The surge in natural gas drilling that has transformed Colorado’s landscape and plumped its coffers appears headed for a plateau as producers cut back spending and reduce rig counts for a variety of reasons: lower gas prices, credit market turmoil, limited pipeline capacity and the possibility of more stringent state regulations.