Corrective

Talisman Energy Inc. temporarily shut down all hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations in North America while it investigated a well control incident that occurred Jan. 17 at a Talisman natural gas well on state forest land in Tioga County, PA, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said Tuesday. DEP is conducting a separate investigation of the incident.

Energy traders still recovering from the October crude contract’s blowout expiration Monday were treated to a small corrective action Tuesday, while October natural gas futures tested the upper parameters of the recent trading range. November crude dropped $2.76 to close at $106.61/bbl and October natural gas ventured temporarily above $8 before finishing at $7.931, up 27.3 cents from Monday’s close.

Taking corrective action following Tuesday’s 21-cent-plus gain, natural gas futures traders pushed the expiring September contract to a low of $5.380 on Wednesday before it went off of the board at $5.430, down 16.3 cents on the day.

Following last week’s $1.582 increase in November natural gas futures to close on Friday at $7.241, traders on Monday launched a corrective action and pushed the contract back below the $7 level to $6.840 before settling at $6.881, down 36 cents on the day.

American Electric Power’s (AEP) announcement last week that it plans to mothball several power plants in Texas by the end of this year is likely to be just the start of what is expected to be a “sizable economic displacement” of incumbent utility generation, a new report by a Williams Capital Group analyst concludes.

Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America (NGPL) fears that corrective action ordered by FERC with respect to its auction practices, if construed improperly, could boomerang and potentially “nullify” the pipeline’s negotiated-rate authority and “aggravate” its decontracting problems.

Despite failing this summer to deliver several high-profileenergy restructuring corrective laws, California’s statelegislature is expected to be the focal point of future energypolicymaking again next year, with more involvement from thegovernor’s office, according to a variety of energy expertsaddressing a two-day industry workshop in San Francisco.

The strong corrective rebound of the April contract seemed indanger of coming to an end yesterday morning when the contract setnew lows for the week at $1.835, but April held and quickly resumedits upward path in afternoon trade to post a new high at $1.930 andclose the day at $1.928/MMBtu.

The futures market made gains for the second day in a rowTuesday on what many sources are calling a bit of a technicalcorrection in an otherwise down market. That left the Septembercontract hovering within striking distance of the downtrend linethat has thwarted upward momentum since July 9. September finishedup 2.6 cents to settle at 1.895.