February

Rockies Express Pipeline LLC’s (REX) projected time frame — early February — for completing the remainder of its western leg known as REX-West has come and gone. The company now expects the remaining 213 miles of the REX-West project, running eastward from an ANR Pipeline interconnect in Brown County, KS, to Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line (PEPL) in Audrain County, MO, to be in service some time in March.

February natural gas futures continued to scout lower prices Wednesday as temperature forecasts continued to moderate and economy concerns ran rampant. The prompt-month contract put in a low of $8.090 before settling the day at $8.133, down 6.3 cents from Tuesday’s close.

February natural gas futures shot lower Tuesday as some market watchers hypothesized that the slumping U.S. economy upstaged colder-than-expected temps in near-term weather forecasts. The contract recorded a low of $8.080 before closing out Tuesday’s session at $8.196, down 15.7 cents from Monday’s finish.

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) has given five investor-owned gas and electric utilities in the state until Jan. 11 to report pay packages their top executives have received and other financial information from the past decade as part of an investigation into whether executive compensation “is reasonable and just.”

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) has given five investor-owned gas and electric utilities in the state until Jan. 11 to report pay packages their top executives have received and other financial information from the past decade as part of an investigation into whether executive compensation “is reasonable and just.”

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) in February plans to hold the first oil and natural gas lease sale in the Chukchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Alaska in 17 years, a region estimated to hold 15 bbl of oil and 76 Tcf of gas.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) in February plans to hold the first oil and natural gas lease sale in the Chukchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in 17 years, a region estimated to hold 15 bbl of oil and 76 Tcf of gas.

After opening Friday at $6.560, which would end up sticking as the low for the day, February natural gas futures pushed higher as commercial hedgers covered their short positions ahead of the weekend. The prompt-month contract recorded a high of $6.940 before settling at $6.886, up 56.2 cents on the day and 28.5 cents higher than the previous week’s close.

In what might be yet another round of “buy the rumor, sell the fact,” natural gas futures traders pushed the February contract lower on Wednesday despite the fact that the freezing cold weather forecasted weeks ago was finally coming to fruition for much of the United States. The prompt month put in a low of $6.200 before closing at $6.234, down 40.4 cents on the day.