Distinct

Escondido Resources II LLC of Midland, TX, has sold 11,050 net acres in the Eagle Ford Shale for $115.3 million. The sale consists of three distinct blocks of acreage located mainly in La Salle County in South Texas, Escondido said Tuesday.

Calgary-based EnCana Corp. last week completed its transaction to split into two distinct energy companies, but some wonder whether the pure-play natural gas producer now is a mouthwatering morsel for a thirsty oil major.

Calgary-based EnCana Corp. on Monday completed its transaction to split into two distinct energy companies, but some wonder whether the pure-play natural gas producer now is a mouthwatering morsel for a thirsty oil major.

Price movement was mixed Thursday but displayed a distinct bias toward the upside. Significant heating load was scarce across much of the South, but increasing in the Northeast and West while mostly standing pat in the Midwest. The cash market also had support from a March futures contract that has been on the rise since the previous Thursday.

Amid three distinct selling surges, natural gas futures returned to pre-hurricane (Isidore and Lili) levels Thursday as traders grappled with a one-two combination of bearish news. The first blow came before the open when traders learned that Hurricane Lili had weakened prior to landfall. Still reeling from that, traders were again stymied upon learning that a greater-than-expected 47 Bcf was injected into storage last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. Then after holding support at $3.78 for much of the afternoon, the November contract broke lower in the final 30 minutes of trading. It closed at $3.724, down 43.6 cents for the session and more than 50 cents beneath its $4.25 peak notched during the height of the hurricane hype Tuesday.

Buoyed by two distinct buying surges, natural gas futures shuffled higher Tuesday as commercial futures traders reacted to rising temperatures across most areas of the country and strong demand in the nearby physical market. While losses Monday were spread out almost equally across the entire natural gas strip, Tuesday’s gains were front-loaded with the August contract receiving a 12.9-cent boost to $3.282. By comparison, the 12-month strip advanced just 9.6 cents to close at $3.715.

In three distinct selling waves, natural gas futures plummetedlower yesterday as traders liquidated long positions andestablished fresh shorts amid a bevy of bearish fundamental news.Feeding off losses incurred in the overnight session, the Februarycontract gapped down at the open Wednesday and shuffled lower tothe $7.50 level by 2 p.m. (EST).

Bulls never had a chance yesterday when natural gas futures werehit with two distinct waves of selling pressure as traders unloadedlong positions. Sources said early options-related liquidation wasreplaced by storage and market-on-close selling in the afternoon,and that was enough to delivered the expiring April contract 6.3cents lower to its final resting place at $2.90. The prompt monthin waiting, May, followed suit by also slipping 6.3 cents to closeat $2.908.