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North Dakota passed another oil production milestone in November, averaging more than a half-million b/d, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by the state Industrial Commission.

November natural gas gained in lackluster trading Wednesday as traders were surprised at the move given the big storage injection figure expected Thursday. At the close November was up 3.3 cents to $3.586 and December had added 2.5 cents to $3.813. November crude oil tumbled $2.23 to $86.11/bbl.

The record-breaking drought gripping Texas has the state’s reservoir/aquifer managers eyeing water levels and issuing warnings. But lower water reserves apparently have not seriously affected oil and gas activities in the state, at least not yet.

April natural gas futures settled a dime lower Thursday as the market was forced to price in a withdrawal figure significantly lower than expectations. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that for the week ended March 4, 71 Bcf had been withdrawn from inventories, way less than what the market was expecting. At the end of the day April futures fell 10.0 cents to $3.830 and May shed 9.4 cents to $3.892. April crude oil dropped $1.68 to $102.70/bbl.

Petrohawk Energy Corp. announced Tuesday that test wells using a new flow-channel fracturing technique called HiWAY — created by Houston-based Schlumberger Ltd. — yielded increased production and it plans to expand use of the technology.

Trying to figure out where the North American natural gas markets are headed over the next decade — or even the next five years — is a nearly impossible task, a panel of executives said last week at GasMart 2010 in Chicago.

Trying to figure out where the North American natural gas markets are headed over the next decade — or even the next five years — is a nearly impossible task, a panel of executives said Tuesday at GasMart 2010 in Chicago.

October natural gas futures bounced within a 20-cent range on Tuesday as traders and analysts attempted to figure out the range-bound market’s next move. The prompt-month contract ended up finishing the day’s regular session at $3.609, up 3.3 cents from Monday’s close.

Those looking for a natural gas storage injection Thursday morning ended up being equally as wrong as those looking for a withdrawal…sort of…as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that inventory levels remained flat during the week ending March 27. Further confounding traders was the disclosure by the EIA that it made “reclassifications” and “corrections” to the overall level of storage, which effectively canceled out what would have been a 9 Bcf injection for the week. The confusion sent May natural gas futures on an up-and-down odyssey immediately following the report before the contract ended up closing at $3.782, up 8.7 cents from Wednesday’s finish.