Gained

Major leaseholders in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), which had evacuated personnel over the weekend as Tropical Storm Debby gained strength, were preparing to redeploy workers Monday as the storm became almost stationary over the northeastern GOM with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.

Compressed natural gas (CNG) gained more fans along the East Coast last week, while the use of CNG vehicles by a major rental car operator also was launched.

Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) gained state regulatory approval Thursday to sell its lone remaining interest in out-of-state coal-fired generation. This is consistent with the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) mandate that it do so by 2016.

Most cash market points gained a few cents, lost a few cents or stood unchanged Wednesday, except for deliveries into the Northeast, where a handful of points posted double-digit gains due to cooler weather. Futures elected to go their own way and closed higher. At the closing bell April futures had risen 9.7 cents to $2.616 and May had improved 8.3 cents to $2.710. April crude oil rose 52 cents to $107.07/bbl.

Natural gas cash averages for the most part Thursday gained or lost a few pennies, but Northeast points saw double-digit gains as temperatures in New England were expected to drop and pipelines issued curtailments.

A unit of Japan’s Marubeni Corp. has struck a deal to acquire a 35% stake in Dallas-based Hunt Oil Co.’s Eagle Ford Shale holdings. Marubeni pledged Friday to grow its stake in shales, in the United States and around the world.

In a first step to gaining broader approvals, the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Oregon on Wednesday gained an initial approval from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to export LNG. The backers of the project at Coos Bay called it a “procedural” step needed to seek broader DOE and FERC approvals.

Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. has agreed to purchase approximately 50,000 net leasehold acres in the Bakken Shale play from an undisclosed private oil and gas company for $540 million in cash and $50 million in stock, and agreed to assume the terms of a drilling rig contract.

December natural gas rose Monday as traders covered short positions before options expiration on Wednesday. At the close December had gained 8.3 cents to $3.399 and January had risen 6.2 cents to $3.558. January crude oil fell 75 cents to $96.92/bbl.