Dollar

Physical natural gas prices averaged about a penny lower for weekend and Monday deliveries, with dollar-plus losses at eastern and Northeast pipes offsetting widespread gains at Gulf, Midcontinent and California points.

A federal judge has given final approval to the economic portion of a multibillion dollar class action settlement between BP plc and thousands of individuals and businesses affected by the April 2010 deepwater Macondo well blowout.

The fate of the northern portion of the multi-billion-dollar Keystone XL oil pipeline from western Canada to the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in the hands of the Obama administration will be the bellwether this coming year, determining if the U.S. technology-driven abundance of hydrocarbons is going to be cashed in as part of a North American-wide energy transformation, according to a former private equity energy star and now senior think tank fellow.

The fate of the northern portion of the multi-billion-dollar Keystone XL oil pipeline from western Canada to the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in the hands of the Obama administration will be the bellwether this coming year, determining if the U.S. technology-driven abundance of hydrocarbons is going to be cashed in as part of a North American-wide energy transformation, according to a former private equity energy star and now senior think tank fellow.

Cash prices overall added an average nearly 15 cents Wednesday as multi-dollar gains at New England points led the charge higher. Midcontinent points posted solid gains, but the East and California chalked up even higher ones. At the close of trading January futures had surged 16.1 cents to $3.700 and February had jumped 15.8 cents to $3.720. January crude oil fell 62 cents to $87.88/bbl.

Cash natural gas prices fell by a nickel on average Tuesday as a handful of multi-dollar gains posted on Northeast pipes were unable to offset a broad retreat at Great Lakes, eastern and most other locations, as well as a weak screen. At the close of trading January futures had given up 5.2 cents to $3.539 and February had eased 5.3 cents to $3.562. January crude oil fell 59 cents to $88.50/bbl.

Shareholders of Nexen Inc. voted to accept a C$15.1 billion (U.S. dollar at par) takeover offer by CNOOC Ltd., an arm of state-controlled China National Offshore Oil Co.

Even with a multi-billion-dollar natural gas gathering and processing infrastructure buildout ongoing, North Dakota is not likely to greatly reduce the volumes of gas being flared as an offshoot of its accelerated oil boom, according to an analysis released Thursday by RBN Energy LLC.

Canada’s 12 biggest pipelines predict they could all be safely shut down and abandoned for C$4.58 billion (U.S. dollar at par), in formal estimates presented to the National Energy Board (NEB). But landowners along the big dozen’s natural gas and oil conduits are protesting that the companies have only owned up to a small fraction of their environmental liability.