Erase

Government desire to erase a political black mark and the efforts of a consumer champion have come together to open a natural gas can of worms in Alberta. The coincidence has spawned a regulatory case to answer a tricky question: Who should pay the freight for delivering gas to the “core market” of residential, commercial and public service users such as hospitals and schools?

Government desire to erase a political black mark and the efforts of a consumer champion have come together to open a natural gas can of worms in Alberta. The coincidence has spawned a regulatory case to answer a tricky question: Who should pay the freight for delivering gas to the “core market” of residential, commercial and public service users such as hospitals and schools?

In its debut as Nymex prompt month, the July natural gas futures contract was a bull’s dream Friday as it surged higher to nearly erase losses suffered in sympathy with Thursday’s expiration-day June contract liquidation. A combination of speculative short-covering and end-user buying were cited as factors in the rally that propelled July up 15.8 cents to $6.370 Friday, two ticks shy of Wednesday’s $6.372 close. On Thursday, the June contract tumbled 19.2 cents to go off the board at $6.123.

Giving back all of Monday’s gains and then some, December natural gas futures on Tuesday made a second unsuccessful run at breaking through and staying below the psychological $7.00 mark. After reaching a low of $7.05 on the day, the prompt month settled at $7.124, down 31.2 cents.

Giving back all of Monday’s gains and then some, December natural gas futures on Tuesday made a second unsuccessful run at breaking through and staying below the psychological $7.00 mark. After reaching a low of $7.05 on the day, the prompt month settled at $7.124, down 31.2 cents.

Following an eight-day, 83-cent rally, the natural gas futures market appeared to cool its jets early Wednesday as traders liquidated long positions ahead of Thursday’s storage report and the Nymex holiday Friday. At 11:40 a.m., the May contract had tumbled all the way down to $5.495 from Tuesday’s close at $5.653, but that turned out to be the low for the day.

After falling during the regular session Wednesday, natural gas futures rebounded to erase that loss in the late afternoon as traders reacted to the news of a larger-than-expected 49 Bcf storage withdrawal.

As oil and gas exploration continues in high gear mode to erase the supply/demand imbalance, Kerr-McGee Corp. reported that it has increased its international position in high potential trends by nearly 10% so far in 2001. The Oklahoma City-based company said it has acquired interests in more than 3 million additional deepwater acres around the globe.

As oil and gas exploration continues in high gear mode to erase the supply/demand imbalance, Kerr-McGee Corp. reported that it has increased its international position in high potential trends by nearly 10% so far in 2001. The Oklahoma City-based company said it has acquired interests in more than 3 million additional deepwater acres around the globe..