Believe

Two-thirds of polled Americans don’t believe Congress has done enough to adopt a comprehensive energy policy to meet the nation’s present and future energy needs, according to a public opinion survey released last Tuesday by the Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth (AEEG).

Two-thirds of polled Americans don’t believe Congress has done enough to adopt a comprehensive energy policy to meet the nation’s present and future energy needs, according to a public opinion survey released Tuesday by the Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth (AEEG).

While many gas market observers believe the recent price spikes have been significantly overdone, this does not rule out the possibility that there has been a legitimate tightening in the market, according to energy consultant Stephen Smith of Natchez, MS-based Stephen Smith Energy Associates. The federal government’s own long-term gas forecast released last week supports that conclusion (see related story).

North America most likely will not only be relying on liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the long haul, but also eventually will compete with Asia for LNG supplies, a group of energy executives said last week on the opening day of the North American Natural Gas Summit in Houston.

North America most likely will not only be relying on liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the long haul, but also eventually will compete with Asia for LNG supplies, a group of energy executives said Wednesday on the opening day of the North American Natural Gas Summit in Houston..

Lehman Brothers analyst Jeffrey W. Robertson is pessimistic about Stone Energy being able to meet its 2003 and 2004 gas production targets and has lowered his share price projections on the company.

Lehman Brothers analyst Jeffrey W. Robertson is pessimistic about Stone Energy being able to meet its 2003 and 2004 gas production targets and has lowered his share price projections on the company.

Moody’s Investors Service last week said it would maintain a “developing” outlook on Dynegy Inc. and its subsidiaries because even with its recent junk bond offering, the company still will have to refinance or replace more than $1 billion in other credit facilities and term loans during 2005. In a similar assessment, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) analysts said that while the transactions mitigated some concern about near-term liquidity and financial flexibility, they haven’t led to a change in overall credit quality.

If the federal government opens up now restricted areas to drilling and offers incentives to drill more difficult plays, there are still prospects in the United States on and offshore for substantial natural gas exploration and production, according to several oil and gas executives, who spoke Monday at the Ziff Energy Conference in Houston.