Double

Drilling in the Haynesville Shale helped Louisiana more than double its natural gas production in April from two years ago, and production in the Lower 48 states increased 10.6% (6.66 Bcf/d) to 69.05 Bcf/d during the same time period, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) monthly natural gas report.

Southern Union Co.’s share price on Friday jumped by double-digits after Williams extended a lucrative merger offer to counter one made earlier this month by Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE).

Prices declined, mostly by double digits, across the board Thursday as a relative lack of substantive cooling demand combined with the previous day’s 7.1-cent dip in July futures to bring bearish pressure on the cash market.

July natural gas underwent a double-digit drubbing Thursday following a government inventory report showing greater-than-expected additions to inventories. Traders were surprised by the 98 Bcf addition reported by the Energy Information Administration, and prices promptly fell as expectations were for a smaller build. At the close July was 12.4 cents lower at $4.193 and August had dropped 13.3 cents to $4.217. July crude oil cascaded lower, giving up $4.39 to $91.02/bbl.

Natural gas wells on Utah’s federal lands could nearly double under a major new development plan created with the cooperation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which includes best practices to reduce air pollution.

Natural gas wells on Utah’s federal lands could nearly double under a major new development plan created with the cooperation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Kerr-McGee and including best practices to reduce air pollution.

The double-digit advances that pervaded the market Monday were disappearing rapidly Tuesday except in the Northeast, where forecasts are getting hotter. Close-to-flat numbers were common outside the Northeast, and small losses were resurfacing in the price mix for the first time since one last Friday.

July natural gas posted a double-digit gain as traders factored in a warmer temperature forecast and the emergence of tropical activity in the central Caribbean. At the end of the day July rose 12.0 cents to $4.827 and August gained 11.8 cents to $4.857. July crude oil tumbled $1.21 to $99.01/bbl.

The nation’s largest municipal utility, the $4 billion Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), plans to nearly double its reliance on natural gas for electricity generation while phasing out coal over the next two decades, according to a presentation last Saturday by new General Manager Ron Nichols.