Fall

Following reports this fall of sex, drugs and financial/contract misconduct at high levels within the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) royalty in kind (RIK) program, the agency’s director, Randall Luthi, said Friday that actions have been taken against all of the personnel involved.

Following reports this fall of sex, drugs and financial/contract misconduct at high levels within the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) royalty in kind (RIK) program, the agency’s director, Randall Luthi, said Friday that actions have been taken against all of the personnel involved.

The tight credit environment could prove to be bigger concern for natural gas drilling in 2009 than the sharp fall-off of gas prices over the past few months, Barclays Capital energy analysts said last week.

The tight credit environment could prove to be bigger concern for natural gas drilling in 2009 than the sharp fall-off of gas prices over the past few months, Barclays Capital energy analysts said Tuesday.

The Department of Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) and Bureau of Land Management actions fall short of what is required to to ensure the proper measurement of oil and natural gas production for royalty purposes, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a recent report.

The Department of Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) and Bureau of Land Management actions fall short of what is required to to ensure the proper measurement of oil and natural gas production for royalty purposes, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Friday.

Cash prices took a hard fall across the board Friday, weighed down by a 46.5-cent prior-day futures plunge, the continuance of relatively light cooling load outside the southern U.S. (including the Midcontinent and Rockies) and the loss of industrial demand during a weekend.

Overall double-digit losses by cash prices Monday were driven primarily by Friday’s fall of 39.6 cents by August futures and to a lesser degree by declining cooling load in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest. The return of industrial load after the weekend and modest warming trends in the South, Midwest and Rockies was largely unable to avert softness in most of the physical market.

Avista warned that high natural gas prices will show up in customer rates this fall when annual purchased gas cost adjustments (PGA) are filed with the public utility commissions in Washington, Idaho and Oregon.