Ground

The Texas Senate Wednesday evening unanimously passed legislation to require disclosure of the contents of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) fluid, “breaking ground that no other state has done,” according to state Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay). However, a floor amendment could thwart the bill’s progress.

June natural gas futures gained ground as traders covered short positions prior to both the June contract expiration and the release of government inventory figures. At the closing bell June natural gas had risen 3.4 cents to $4.379 and July had gained 3.2 cents to $4.423. July crude oil jumped $1.73 to $101.32/bbl.

The United States had 1,898 Tcf of natural gas in the ground at the end of last year, according to the Potential Gas Committee’s (PGC) latest biennial assessment released last Wednesday. The estimate surpasses the previous record-high assessment by 61 Tcf, thanks mainly to shale gas plays in the Gulf Coast region, the Midcontinent and Rocky Mountains, PGC said.

The United States had 1,898 Tcf of natural gas in the ground at the end of last year, according to the Potential Gas Committee’s (PGC) latest biennial assessment released Wednesday. The estimate surpasses the previous record-high assessment by 61 Tcf, thanks mainly to shale gas plays in the Gulf Coast region, the Midcontinent and Rocky Mountains, PGC said.

The cash market regained the price ground lost on the previous day and more Wednesday as a decline of heating load in the South proved to be less than expected and the lower Northeast saw a substantial reversal of prior warming trends. Spot gas also had fairly strong support from Tuesday’s May futures rise of 12.4 cents.

May natural gas futures gained ground in active trading Wednesday as traders covered short positions in seeking to minimize exposure over the upcoming three-day weekend and not get caught on the wrong side of what could be a developing market trend. At the end of the day May had risen 4.8 cents to $4.310 and June gained 4.7 cents to $4.357. May crude oil vaulted higher $3.17 to $111.45/bbl.

March natural gas futures ground lower in light trading Friday as traders noted little in the way of new weather input and a nonresponse to January employment figures. At the closing bell March had shed 2.7 cents to $4.310 and April had slipped 1.5 cents to $4.342. March crude oil tumbled $1.51 to $89.03/bbl.

Natural gas has been turning up in North Dakota water wells for generations, and for the last four years geologists there have been studying its occurrence in observation water wells with the possibility in mind that it could be a viable commercial resource.

Pennsylvania hunters will likely find a changed woods this hunting season and may be surprised by the level of disturbance and activity on public lands in the north-central, northeastern and southwestern regions of the state, according to a wildlife expert in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.