Buoyed

Riding a wave of positive news that has buoyed its share price and improved the long-term outlook, Williams on Thursday reiterated its growing stability from high natural gas prices, which in turn has benefited all of its gas businesses and its rebounding power business.

Buoyed by growing, albeit still rather moderate, heating load and a screen jump of more than 20 cents the day before, cash prices advanced strongly across the board Thursday. Increases ranged from 30 cents to nearly 60 cents, with the West tending to garner the lion’s share of the larger upticks.

Buoyed by strong growth in the Barnett Shale play in Texas, as well as new exploration in Trinidad and the North Sea, EOG Resources Inc. on Thursday raised its production growth target to 9%, or 1.216 Bcfe/d, up from a previous forecast of 8%, or 1.167 Bcfe/d. For 2005, EOG forecast a 14% rise in production to 1.386 Bcfe/d and it forecast an 8% hike to 1.497 Bcfe/d in 2006 — most of it in North America.

Buoyed by strong growth in the Barnett Shale play in Texas, as well as new exploration in Trinidad and the North Sea, EOG Resources Inc. on Thursday raised its production growth target to 9%, or 1.216 Bcfe/d, up from a previous forecast of 8%, or 1.167 Bcfe/d. For 2005, EOG forecast a 14% rise in production to 1.386 Bcfe/d and it forecast an 8% hike to 1.497 Bcfe/d in 2006 — most of it in North America.

Buoyed by another spectacular session of crude oil trading, the September natural gas futures contract inched 5.1 cents higher Thursday to $5.712 as an early attack from the bears was thwarted by consistent, end-use buying support, according to brokers. The storage report, featuring an 83 Bcf injection, was seen as mostly a neutral event.

Buoyed by another price hike in the nearby crude oil market, the natural gas futures market continued its run higher Wednesday to notch a new two-month high. However, concerns that Thursday’s storage report will be a wet blanket for the market were enough to temper the bulls enthusiasm and the April contract only managed a 3.4-cent advance to close at $5.722. At 57,623, estimated volume was relatively weak, confirming the idea that traders chose to remain on the sidelines during the trading session.

Buoyed by a supportive short-term weather outlook and another impressive advance in the nearby crude oil market, natural gas futures surged Monday on a combination of speculative short-covering and commercial trader buying.

Buoyed by run-ups throughout the energy futures complex the day before and the stubborn refusal of wintry weather to exit the market stage in some areas, cash prices recorded across-the-board gains in Friday’s trading for weekend flows.

Buoyed by forecasts suggesting February may be just as cold as January, the natural gas futures market notched a second straight daily advance Tuesday as traders continued to eschew the short side of the ledger. However, the market remains in a state of flux technically, prompting some observers to believe the market will have a difficult time rebounding from current levels to post new highs.