Fund

Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) plans to use its new 2003 budget of 108.4 billion pesos (US$10 billion) to fund activities within its production and exploration unit in an effort to raise its natural gas and crude oil output and to replenish its declining reserves. The budget is the largest ever authorized by Mexico’s Congress, according to Pemex.

Economic factors, plus low power prices, an ice storm, a rate refund and pension fund problems have led Standard & Poor’s (S&P) to revise the outlook for Duke Energy from stable to negative.

Houston-based junior independent Contango Oil & Gas Co. may sell all of its onshore assets and 99% of its current production, all located in South Texas, the company announced on Wednesday. Using the proceeds, the company wants to get back to what it does best: explore the onshore and offshore Gulf of Mexico for new reserves of natural gas and crude oil.

Houston-based junior independent Contango Oil & Gas Co. may sell all of its onshore assets and 99% of its current production, all located in South Texas, the company announced on Wednesday. Using the proceeds, the company wants to get back to what it does best: explore the onshore and offshore Gulf of Mexico for new reserves of natural gas and crude oil.

Houston-based independent producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said last week its board gave thumbs-up to a company plan to raise its capital budget by 10% to $2.2 billion for the year, a move that will be largely funded by anticipated proceeds from $320 million in asset sales and company cash flow.

Houston-based independent producer, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., said Thursday its board of directors has given thumbs-up to a company plan to raise its capital budget by 10% to $2.2 billion for the year, a move that will be largely funded by the anticipated proceeds from $320 million in asset sales and company cash flow.

Natural gas futures continued its astonishing rally yesterday as fund and local traders used Friday’s strong close as a springboard to a gap-higher open. Bears only hope came in the form of a weak mid-morning sell-off. But when that weakness failed to fill in the chart gap down to $3.08, bulls were quick to bid the market right back up. The April contract closed at $3.305, up 22.9 cents for the session and just below the contract’s four-and-a-half-month high notched Oct. 31 at $3.32.

In reaction to requests from both the commercial and large speculative trading fund communities, Nymex is ready to launch — possibly as soon as Friday — large order execution (LOX) trading for natural gas, which attempts to match buyers and sellers willing to trade lots of between 250 and 5,000 contracts. Similar to the current open-outcry trading for smaller lots, LOX trading will be conducted in the pit and will be supported by a LOX bookkeeper who will announce quotes, match buyers with sellers and facilitate the order execution.

The Department of Energy (DOE) says that it will fund the bulk of the costs for six new projects to study the exploration and production potential of methane hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s North Slope region. The total cost of the projects, which will be performed by the energy industry, universities and outside research institutions, has been valued at almost $48 million.