Historical

Oil and natural gas prices are near record levels and global excess production capacity is near historical lows, which in turn has raised demand for petroleum professionals. But the new workforce is nowhere in sight, according to Raymond James & Associates Inc.

Oil and natural gas prices are near record levels and global excess production capacity is near historical lows, which in turn has raised demand for petroleum professionals. But the new workforce is nowhere in sight, according to Raymond James & Associates Inc.

Coming in just below industry estimates but well below historical comparisons, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Thursday morning that 23 Bcf was injected into underground natural gas storage for the week ended Aug. 17. Following the report, September natural gas futures inched higher before closing at $5.622, up 4.4 cents from Wednesday.

Despite coming in on the high side of most industry expectations and well above historical comparisons, the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) report that 58 Bcf was injected into underground storage for the week ended March 30 was greeted by natural gas futures traders on Thursday morning with a collective yawn. After trading within a range from $7.500 to $7.720, May natural gas futures ended up settling for the week at $7.607, up 9.2 cents on the day but 12.3 cents lower than the previous week’s close.

Coming in on the high side of many expectations but well below historical comparisons, the 53 Bcf injection into storage last week reported by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) Thursday morning prompted a wide range of near-month prices in the minutes following the report. However, bulls took control in the afternoon, pushing November natural gas futures higher to close at $7.132, up 32.5 cents on the day.

Coming in well within the range of both industry forecasts and historical comparisons, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Thursday morning that 92 Bcf was injected into underground storage for the week ended June 24.

TransCanada Corp. has come out fighting for support for its historical rights to build the Canadian leg in the Alaska gas project, saying Alberta will lose C$10 billion (US$8 billion) in excess tolls and petrochemical industry growth if the government in Ottawa refuses to honor its claims.

May natural gas futures on Wednesday continued to consolidate as market watchers were still unsure of the contract’s next move. After seesawing a bit, the prompt month ended up settling at $7.558, down 1.4 cents on the session.

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.