Crisis

The question of what to do about millions of dollars in refunds from the 2000-2001 energy crisis was passed back to FERC last Thursday by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals with instructions to regulators to reconsider their decision in conformance with a U.S. Supreme Court decision last June regarding the long-term power contracts (see NGI, June 30).

The country is confronting economic and energy challenges that are similar to those faced three decades ago during the Iranian crisis, said the head of the American Petroleum Institute (API).

While the stock market tumbled lower Wednesday on more financial crisis news, energy futures and other commodities headed in the opposite direction on the day as investors sought refuge in tangible goods. In the second worst session of the year, Dow industrials fell more than 400 points, while October natural gas surged 63.1 cents higher to close at $7.910/MMBtu and October crude gained $6.01 to finish at $97.16/bbl.

The “emotional stage” of the current crisis over skyrocketing oil prices is easing, New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) CEO James Newsome said during an earnings conference call last Thursday, and he expects to see more generalized energy measures proposed when Congress returns from its August recess.

The “emotional stage” of the current crisis over skyrocketing oil prices is easing, New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) CEO James Newsome said during an earnings conference call Thursday, and he expects to see more generalized energy measures proposed when Congress returns from its August recess.

Upstream master limited partnerships (MLP) have suffered from the credit crisis along with all high-yield securities, but the distributions from companies in this sector are backed by “solid” oil and natural gas production and cash flows, which will only increase over time, said energy analysts in a note to clients.

The U.S. natural gas market continues to be the “nation’s silent energy crisis,” but The Dow Chemical Co. has been “anything but silent…and is pounding the pavement” to seek solutions to dwindling domestic supply and increasing demand, John Dearborn, Dow’s vice president of energy, said last week.

The U.S. natural gas market continues to be the “nation’s silent energy crisis,” but The Dow Chemical Co. has been “anything but silent…and is pounding the pavement” to seek solutions to dwindling domestic supply and increasing demand, John Dearborn, Dow’s vice president of energy, said Tuesday.

With their state in the midst of a revenue crisis stemming from shut in of production from the Prudhoe Bay oilfield, Alaska lawmakers approved the biggest rewrite of oil and gas tax policy in decades, which proponents say will pump billions more into state coffers and help pave the way for development of bountiful North Slope natural gas reserves.