Forced

Oil and natural gas producers scored a major victory Thursday when the House defeated a Democratic measure that would have forced them to either use their existing leases or lose them. The House did pass two energy bills before leaving for the Fourth of July recess, which require the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to be more aggressive in its regulation of energy futures markets and would provide mass transit agencies with new funds to deal with skyrocketing gasoline and fuel prices.

High natural gas prices and challenging market conditions have forced a Nova Scotia wallboard company to shutter for a month.

July natural gas futures retreated Tuesday as weather bulls were forced to concede to moderating temperatures in eastern consuming markets and crude oil tumbled. At the close of floor trading July natural gas fell 16.9 cents to $12.435 and August shed 16.8 cents to $12.516. July crude oil skidded $3.04 to $131.31.

Coming off the holiday weekend, traders who once thought last week’s technical weakness solidified a bearish case are now being forced to rethink their outlook. April natural gas futures on Monday traded as high as $9.400 before settling the day at $9.329, up 26.4 cents from last Thursday’s close.

Despite low Rockies natural gas basis prices last year, which for a period forced Ultra Petroleum Corp. to shut in some of its wells (see NGI, Nov. 5, 2007), CEO Michael D. Watford last week said that “somehow, someway” the company “persevered and then prospered” in 2007.

Senate Democrats Thursday were forced to accept a Republican-crafted economic stimulus package that was stripped of any tax credits for renewable energy and subsidies to offset the heating bills of low-income households.

Regulatory delays have forced Dominion and Equitable Resources Inc. to terminate their agreement for the purchase of the Dominion Peoples and Dominion Hope natural gas distribution companies by Equitable, the companies said last week.

Regulatory delays have forced Dominion and Equitable Resources Inc. to terminate their agreement for the purchase of the Dominion Peoples and Dominion Hope natural gas distribution companies by Equitable, the companies said Tuesday.

EnCana Corp. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. will be forced to shut in 121 natural gas wells south of Fort McMurray after the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) concluded that future gas production from the Cold Lake Oil Sands Area Clearwater Formation “presents an unacceptable risk to a much larger bitumen resource” adjacent to the gas. The EUB also plans to assess later whether additional gas production should be shut in.