Fifth

Energy efficiency is no longer considered just a “nice thing to do for society” and is now considered “a real resource,” even a “fifth fuel,” National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) President Jim Kerr told Congress last Monday.

Energy efficiency is no longer considered just a “nice thing to do for society” and is now considered “a real resource,” even a “fifth fuel,” National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) President Jim Kerr told Congress Monday.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has turned down petitioners who asked for a review of a Transportation Department order licensing Shell Gas and Power’s Gulf Landing LLC LNG import terminal offshore Louisiana.

Going out on a weak note, May natural gas futures went off the board Wednesday after completing its fifth consecutive trading day of lower settles. After notching a low of $7.000, May expired at $7.198, down 5.6 cents on the day.

Settling lower for the fifth consecutive regular session, March natural gas futures on Friday brushed off winter storm concerns for the weekend en route to carving out a new low for the move at $7.250. The prompt month finished the week at $7.316, down 16.3 cents from Thursday but an astounding $1.297 lower than the contract’s close in the prior week.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports are forecast to be about one-fifth of the U.S. gas supply by 2025, but North American markets will face several domestic and global challenges going forward, industry experts said Monday. Among other things, U.S. buyers will have to compete a lot more for nearby Atlantic Basin supplies, and will find access issues a continuing challenge.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Monday overturned a lower court’s decision to sentence a former Dynegy Corp. accountant to just over 24 years in prison.

Offshore pioneer Kerr-McGee Corp. will become the fifth largest independent producer following Wednesday’s $3.4 billion merger with Denver-based Westport Resources Corp. The transaction substantially expands Kerr-McGee’s land-based prospects, increasing its proved reserves 30% and also boosting its total daily production more than 34%, which will be weighted 54% to natural gas.

The earliest-ever formation of a fifth named storm in an Atlantic hurricane season in more than a century of record keeping, abetted by gradual increases in heat levels in some areas, was responsible for large price gains at all points Tuesday.