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Natural gas wellhead prices will likely remain in the $5-6/Mcf range for the remainder of the year according to an updated report authored by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC). The projection marks a more than 30% increase over the average price that prevailed throughout 2000 and 2001 of $3.87/Mcf.

Energy companies need to embrace trading as a necessary core component of their energy operations and must develop a trading strategy that “encapsulates effective governance and active risk management” in order to survive, according to a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers titled “Energy Trading – Re-establishing Sound Foundations.”

The report warns that further difficulties could be on the horizon and many existing players may cease to have a viable independent future unless they adapt effectively to the changing market.

Colder temperatures that moved into the central and eastern United States over the extended holiday weekend should stick around for another two weeks, according to Salomon Smith Barney meteorologist Jon Davis.

Stemming the selling pressure set in motion by Wednesday’s storage report, the natural gas futures market rebounded mid-morning Thursday as traders contemplated a supply-demand balance that may be tighter than previously thought. In a rare twist, the 12-month strip gained more (9.5 cents) than either the winter strip (9 cents) or the prompt month (6.8 cents). November closed at $2.486, just off its daily high at $2.51.

“No storm hype here,” a Gulf Coast producer said Friday morning in classic understatement. Usually the approach of a tropical storm toward the Gulf of Mexico production area is a surefire guarantee of higher gas prices, but it was not to be this time. Despite the likelihood of increasing offshore shut-ins over the weekend, traders sent cash prices lower by anywhere from a couple of cents to nearly 30 cents at border-SoCalGas; most declines were on either side of a dime.

Operating on the premise that a little here and a little there adds up to a fully functioning delivery system, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved three expansion projects last Wednesday in the Southeast, Midwest and Northeast.

Operating on the premise that a little here and a little there adds up to a fully functioning delivery system, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved three expansion projects Wednesday in the Southeast, Midwest and Northeast.

Here’s the opening line by the Texas Chamber of Commerce in anybids to lure West Coast business: by this summer, the completionand continued construction of new generation plants in Texas willcreate an electricity supply about 23% higher than peak firmdemand.