Forcing

With the slow start to the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season forcing some forecasting services to recalibrate their expectations going forward, WSI Corp. on Tuesday said it is lowering its expectations from 20 named storms to 19, while keeping its prediction that there will be 11 hurricanes and five intense hurricanes, signified as Category 3 or greater.

A structural shift is under way in the energy industry, forcing natural gas and oil companies to rethink not only corporate strategies but also how they share their visions with the public and policymakers, a panel of energy executives said last week at the Offshore Technology Conference.

A structural shift is under way in the energy industry, forcing natural gas and oil companies to rethink not only corporate strategies but also how they share their visions with the public and policymakers, a panel of energy executives said Monday in Houston on the opening day of the Offshore Technology Conference.

Higher costs and a sustained drop in natural gas prices appear likely to continue into 2008, forcing some of the largest producers in Western Canada to cut their capital budgets and leading more of the smaller gas-heavy independents to sell assets or consolidate, energy executives said at a conference in Toronto.

Higher costs and a sustained drop in natural gas prices appear likely to continue into 2008, forcing some of the largest producers in Western Canada to cut their capital budgets and leading more of the smaller gas-heavy independents to sell assets or consolidate, energy executives said at a conference in Toronto.

After battling higher on Monday and then forcing the market lower on Tuesday, the July natural gas futures contract and the people who trade it decided to make Wednesday a draw. The contract traded between $8 and $8.155 before settling the day smack dab in the middle at $8.080, up 1.6 cents from Tuesday.

Higher commodity prices may have improved the net profit for producers, but as prices have risen, related service costs have escalated “tremendously,” forcing the exploration and production (E&P) sector to focus on appraisal and development projects rather than new long-lead-time exploration, according to a report by Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA). The latest IHS-CERA Capex Index for generic global projects found costs have risen 68% since 2000 and 18% in just the last six months.

Higher commodity prices may have improved the net profit for producers, but as prices have risen, related service costs have escalated “tremendously,” forcing the exploration and production (E&P) sector to focus on appraisal and development projects rather than new long-lead-time exploration, according to a report issued Tuesday by Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA). The latest IHS-CERA Capex Index for generic global projects found costs have risen 68% since 2000 and 18% in just the last six months.

Soaring construction costs are forcing producers to once again “pause” discussions with the Canadian government over the long-proposed Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP), an Imperial Oil Co. executive said Wednesday.