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The sharp contraction in the Texas oil and gas economy began to ease as 2009 came to an end, but uncertainty persists about the future of the state’s energy industry with the oversupply of domestic natural gas, a petroleum economist said last week.

The sharp contraction in the Texas oil and gas economy began to ease as 2009 came to an end, but uncertainty persists about the future of the state’s energy industry with the oversupply of domestic natural gas, a petroleum economist said Tuesday.

The sharp contraction in the Texas oil and gas economy began to ease as 2009 came to an end, but uncertainty persists about the future of the state’s energy industry with the oversupply of domestic natural gas, a petroleum economist said Tuesday.

Interest in the Haynesville Shale shows no sign of waning anytime soon. Last week came three more big announcements to expand pipeline capacity from the natural gas shale play.

An expert witness for FERC last Tuesday came close to testifying that a former natural gas trader for failed hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC manipulated natural gas futures prices, but she never crossed that line.

An expert witness for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Tuesday came close to testifying that a former natural gas trader for failed hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC manipulated natural gas futures prices, but she never crossed that line.

When all looked lost for Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group, billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. came to the rescue with a merger proposal and capital infusion; however, Wednesday the American business icon stepped aside to make way for the French. Constellation accepted Electricite de France subsidiary EDF Development Inc.’s offer to acquire a 49.99% interest in Constellation Energy Nuclear Group LLC for $4.5 billion, ending MidAmerican’s plans to acquire all of Constellation.

Apparently convinced that the current frigid temperatures will be short-lived, natural gas bears came out in force Tuesday to record a new front-month natural gas futures low for the current down move. February futures penetrated the old prompt-month low of $5.210 recorded on Dec. 22 to put in a $5.158 tick before closing out Tuesday’s regular session at $5.184, down an astounding 35.8 cents from Monday’s close.

The recent decline in the price of domestic natural gas came partially in sympathy with plummeting crude oil prices, “but also because of the increasing fall gas storage surplus, which has occurred despite extended [hurricane] Gustav/Ike gas shut-ins, extremely low liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and colder-than-normal fall weather,” an energy analyst said in a review.