Heavily

Coming in about 15 Bcf over the industry consensus projection and well above historical figures, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that 230 Bcf — heavily weighted to the East Region — was removed from underground storage for the week ended Jan. 21.

Houston-based Newfield Exploration Co., which up to now has been heavily concentrated on finding natural gas, on Friday announced an agreement to acquire oil-rich Inland Resources, a privately held Denver-based exploration company. The transaction, valued at $575 million plus working capital and inventory, establishes a new Rocky Mountain focus for Newfield and adds a legacy asset to its portfolio.

With traders unwilling to bet too heavily ahead of the release of fresh inventory data Thursday, the natural gas futures market continued its sideways price action Wednesday. By virtue of the modest mid-morning sell-off, bears were able to claim the day as a victory, with April prices slipping 4.1 cents to close at $5.397.

Questar Corp. shares (STR) rose nearly 2% Wednesday morning to $32.02 at noon after the company raised its earnings guidance for the year and reported a 23% increase in net income to $28.7 million, or 34/cents per diluted share, for third-quarter on much higher realized gas prices.

Natural gas futures continued to chop sideways Tuesday as traders appeared hesitant to bet too heavily one way or the other while a major hurricane spins in the Eastern Atlantic and fresh storage data is scheduled for release Thursday. The futures market rebounded modestly as weak shorts covered their Monday afternoon sales. The October contract closed at $4.73, recouping 6.9 cents of the 11 cents it lost in trading on Monday.

Noting forecasts of continued warm weather in Florida and that its capacity is being heavily utilized, Florida Gas Transmission issued an Overage Alert Day notice Tuesday for its market area. The tolerance for negative daily imbalances was 10%.

For the next three months, forecaster WSI Corp. is forecasting cooler-than-normal temperatures in the central and southern Rockies, central and southern Plains and Pacific Northwest.Warmer-than-normal temperatures are expected in California and Nevada, the northern Rockies and Plains, as well as all areas east of the Mississippi River.

For the next three months, forecaster WSI Corp. is forecasting cooler-than-normal temperatures in the central and southern Rockies, central and southern Plains and Pacific Northwest.Warmer-than-normal temperatures are expected in California and Nevada, the northern Rockies and Plains, as well as all areas east of the Mississippi River.

Natural gas and petroleum products are the second most heavily traded category of futures contracts on organized exchanges, after financial products, according to a new Energy Information Administration (EIA) report released last month. The government agency noted that the growth in derivatives — i.e., futures, options, swaps and forwards — points out just how volatile energy markets are.