Contract

With U.S. onshore drilling activity declining and exploration budgets slashed, the outlook for the contract drilling sector remains negative through the rest of this year, Standard & Poor's (S&P) analysts said Friday.

The Mexican government has given its approval for 19 prequalified companies — including subsidiaries of Chevron Corp., ExxonMobil Corp., Hess Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp. — plus seven consortia to bid on 14 offshore exploratory blocks in the shallow Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

The Mexican government has given its approval for 19 prequalified companies — including subsidiaries of Chevron Corp., ExxonMobil Corp., Hess Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp. — plus seven consortia to bid on 14 offshore exploratory blocks in the shallow Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

May bidweek trading was something of a subdued affair, with most points falling anywhere from a nickel to a dime.

May bidweek trading was something of a subdued affair, with most points falling anywhere from a nickel to a dime.

The expiring April natural gas futures contract is set to open 3 cents lower Friday morning at $2.64 as traders see continued market weakness yet have to deal with erratic weekend weather conditions. Overnight oil markets fell.

Responding to market interest, electronic trading platform Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced on Friday the introduction of 44 new contracts, including energy futures and options contracts and Euro Cocoa.

In an effort to make up for 2,200 MW of generation lost when the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) was closed last year, Edison International’s Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) has signed five contracts for nearly 1,700 MW of natural gas-fired generation and another 69 deals providing the rest.

In the heart of middle America there is a pre-winter dogfight unfolding in a federal district court in Omaha, NE, pitting a trading unit at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) against the local public sector utility and its nonprofit natural gas buying cooperative. The dispute centers on a $719 million, 30-year gas deal the bank wants to terminate.