Convinced

Range Resources Corp.’s management team is “convinced” that its best wells are still to come in the Marcellus Shale after some new wells punched into a previously drilled area with five years of production history were “substantially better than previous wells,” COO Ray Walker said.

The Pittsburgh City Council has referred a series of proposed amendments, which would create “mineral extraction districts” and possibly open the city to at least limited Marcellus Shale drilling, to the city’s planning commission.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Michael Krancer said late last month he is “not convinced” that wastewater injection wells are an issue in the state, and said he disagreed with a state legislator’s plan to enact a two-year moratorium.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Michael Krancer said late last month he is “not convinced” that wastewater injection wells are an issue in the state, and said he disagreed with a state legislator’s plan to enact a two-year moratorium.

Cash traders appear to be convinced that the 2009-2010 winter is pretty much a done deal already, even with temperatures starting to fall again in several regions. Prices fell at nearly all points Monday.

Cash traders appear to be convinced that the 2009-2010 winter is pretty much a done deal already, even with temperatures starting to fall again in several regions. Prices fell at nearly all points Monday.

At least one source was convinced that resolving end-of-month imbalances had been chiefly responsible for Wednesday’s price gains across the board, because the cash market switched to losses at all points Thursday with little overall change in weak weather fundamentals. The launch of the May aftermarket got an additional negative nudge from Wednesday’s decline of 3.7 cents by June futures as they assumed prompt-month status.

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.

Kerr-McGee Corp. appears to have convinced financier Carl Icahn and his associates to end a proxy fight, but the settlement announced Thursday came at a steep price. The producer said it will buy back $4 billion worth of stock at an all-time high, and announced a plan to sell off “select” U.S. onshore, Gulf of Mexico and North Sea assets, which represent 20-25% of current production and 10-15% of proved reserves.