Checked

Encana Corp. on Wednesday checked off another item on its “to do” list after agreeing to sell two natural gas processing plants that service the Cutbank Ridge area, which straddles Alberta and British Columbia (BC), to Veresen Inc. for C$920 million.

If the Environmental Appeals Board’s authority to invalidate Environmental Protection Agency-approved permits is not checked, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said she would seek to transfer permitting authority back to the Interior Department.

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman Tuesday checked himself into Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston after experiencing an elevated heart rate. He is “resting comfortably” and will remain in the hospital for a few days to undergo a series of routine tests, according to a department spokeswoman. Bodman is 69.

Following a three-day, 13.5% decline off last Wednesday’s highs, natural gas futures checked quietly sideways Tuesday as locals picked each others’ pockets and bulls waited in anticipation of supportive storage news due out Thursday. As evidenced by the strong interest in the out months, strip buying was seen to lift prices at the closing bell. The December contract finished 2 cents higher at $3.883. The 12-month strip, meanwhile, advanced 3.6 cents to finish at $3.868.

Despite higher cash market prices, natural gas futures checked lower Monday as traders learned that neither of the tropical systems being monitored Friday had been able to strengthen over the weekend. The October contract suffered the largest setback, tumbling 10.8 cents to finish at $2.392.

After failing to move through Monday’s $3.40 high, natural gas futures checked lower yesterday, as traders liquidated longs amid waning tropical storm concerns and ahead of potentially bearish storage data to be released today. Although modest advances were seen in the afternoon, losses sustained earlier in the day were more sizeable, leaving September with a 5.7-cent decline to finish at $3.296.

Trading inside the range established on Wednesday and Thursday, natural gas futures checked mostly sideways Friday as light short covering ahead of the weekend was met with an almost equal amount of overhead selling. The July contract finished at $3.93, up 1.6 cents on the day, but down 10.3 cents for the week.

After opening higher but failing to test resistance at $4.38, natural gas futures checked sideways yesterday as traders caught their breath after Monday’s 25-cent price-erosion. During the open-outcry session Tuesday, the prompt June contract closed at $4.279, just about equally between Monday’s $4.239 close and its $4.32 high.

After a weather-delayed opening, natural gas futures checkedmostly sideways Tuesday despite the presence of some moderatelybullish weather and storage news. After carving out its narrow5.5-cent trading range during the first 30 minutes of trading, theApril contract shuffled sideways to close 2.1 cents lower at$5.315.