Commodity

November natural gas is set to open 5 cents higher Wednesday morning at $2.94 as forecasters expect a round of warm, moist weather to hit important Mid-Atlantic markets. Overnight oil markets eased.

Relief in commodity prices toward the end of 2016 was not enough to pull natural gas-rich Vanguard Natural Resources LLC out of the bankruptcy vortex, with the Houston-based onshore explorer filing for Chapter 11 protection on Thursday.

Natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) may get more attention in the Williston Basin in future years as commodity prices turn upward and producers continue their pursuit of wringing more value-added returns out of the Bakken Shale in North Dakota, stakeholders said this week.

Many energy executives expect natural gas prices to remain below $3.00/MMBtu this year while renewables are expected to continue to take more market share, according to an annual survey by KPMG Global Energy Institute.

The U.S. Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) levied a $225,000 fine against two entities of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPMC), the largest bank in the United States, for filing inaccurate large trader reports (LTRs) for physical commodity swaps positions for more than one year.

Liquidity stress in the oil and gas industry reached its highest-ever level in February, continuing a trend that began in late 2014, Moody’s Investors Service said in a note published Tuesday.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. said it is not planning to seek bankruptcy protection, knocking down a report that led investors Monday to bail on the second largest U.S. natural gas producer.

Rattled shareholders of Chesapeake Energy Corp. headed for the exits Monday following a report, later denied by the company, that restructuring experts had been hired to assist with a bankruptcy filing.

Eclipse Resources Corp. revealed Thursday that “substantially lower commodity prices” led to a 58% writedown of its proved reserves as of Dec. 31 compared to 2014 year-end reported values.