Climbed

EnCana Corp. reported cash flow in 2005 climbed 57% on record natural gas output and strong proved reserves additions, with growth in all of its North American resource plays. However, because of “inflationary pressures,” the company, which is North America’s largest independent, plans to reduce some of its drilling investments this year, resulting in an 8% reduction in its upstream capital forecast and a drop in gas sales of about 75 MMcf/d.

After gapping lower to open Friday at $14.850, January natural gas climbed quickly in the first hour of trading, producing fear that the market was going to spike again like it did Thursday. After reaching a new all-time prompt month high of $15.200 at 10:44 a.m. EST, January backed down, putting to rest the possibility of back-to-back spikes. The front month ended up closing at $14.312, down 68.2 cents on the day but 38.1 cents higher than the previous Friday’s settle.

January natural gas kept the week’s upward momentum rolling Friday from the get-go. After opening at $13.150, the prompt month climbed slowly until approximately 1 p.m. EST, when it exploded higher to settle at $13.931, up 90.4 cents on the day.

Finishing higher for only the second day out of eight, December natural gas futures on Monday climbed 45.8 cents to settle at $11.873. Despite the sizeable jump, one broker said the downtrend is still healthy, adding that Monday’s price action was just a short-covering rally.

Offshore Gulf of Mexico natural gas production climbed about 3%, or 267 MMcf/d, on Thursday compared to levels on Wednesday, but 66%, or 6,628.07 MMcf/d, remained shut in, according to the Minerals Management Service (MMS). Since Aug. 26, a cumulative total of 240.074 Bcf has been shut in, which is about 6.57% of the annual Gulf output.

After staking out a session low of $13.75 in morning trade, November natural gas futures steadily climbed for the remainder of the session Tuesday, hitting a high of $14.24 before closing at $14.224, up 20.7 cents on the day.

Unocal Corp.’s share price climbed steadily Thursday and Friday on the rumor that ChevronTexaco Corp. is considering making a bid for the company, according to a report Thursday in the Wall Street Journal. Neither company would comment.

Despite starting Friday with a test of $6.58 support, April natural gas futures climbed higher in the afternoon to settle at $6.744, up 8.7 cents on the session and 2.9 cents from the previous Friday’s $6.715 close.

Unocal Corp.’s share price climbed more than 12% Thursday on the rumor that ChevronTexaco Corp. is considering making a bid for the company, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Neither company would comment.