Debating

North Dakota lawmakers continue holding hearings and debating the merits of energy bills to create incentives for less associated gas flaring at the wellhead and to provide tax relief for oil and gas producers, a spokesperson for the state Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) told NGI Monday.

As Pennsylvania approaches a June 30 deadline for passing a state budget, its governor and lawmakers are debating whether or not to include a tax or fee on Marcellus Shale development in the fiscal document.

January natural gas futures drifted lower Wednesday as traders elected to trade within a narrow range, all the while debating what Thursday’s government inventory report would show. At the end of an uninspired day January futures fell 6.1 cents to $5.462 and February shed 6.5 cents to $5.513. January crude oil rose $1.97 to $72.66/bbl on a supportive petroleum inventory report.

Monday’s 22.1-cent drop in December natural gas futures to $4.824 had traders debating whether the rally from Sept. 4 was now officially over or whether the pullback represented a mere pit stop on the way to yet higher values.

The climate change legislation that the Senate is scheduled to begin debating in June would dramatically cut domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but it could impact the economy and drive up the price of natural gas, according to an extensive review by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The climate change legislation that the Senate is scheduled to begin debating in June would dramatically cut domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but it could impact the economy and drive up the price of natural gas, according to an extensive review by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

With natural gas futures recording a small rebound Tuesday, traders were debating whether the market had seen a bottom on the charts or just another round of short-covering before testing even lower depths. As expiration loomed one day away, the September contract on Tuesday traded between $5.425 and $5.720 before closing at $5.593, up 21.3 cents from Monday.

The U.S. House Wednesday is scheduled to begin debating a resolution that expresses its opposition to efforts by major natural gas exporting countries to form a cartel or other mechanism to manipulate the supply of gas and its price to the world market.

While national elected officials are still debating the issue, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday took his global climate change bandwagon to Europe, meeting with outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair en route to a similar meeting Wednesday with newly elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. The topic in both places: how California and the two European Union nations can help each other fight greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.