Hope

Holding out little hope that the tight domestic natural gas supply situation will ease this year, a top producer official said between 4.5-7 Bcf/d of demand will need to be pushed out of the market through higher prices in the months ahead in order for the industry to have sufficient gas inventories for the 2003-04 heating season.

The new Congress with slim Republican majorities in each house has a better chance to pass a trimmed down energy bill or to sneak through an Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) drilling bill in the next two years, according to Slade Gorton, a former three-term Republican senator from the state of Washington.

The new Congress with slim Republican majorities in each house has a better chance to pass a trimmed down energy bill or to sneak through an Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) drilling bill in the next two years, according to Slade Gorton, a former three-term Republican senator from the state of Washington.

What may be bullish traders’ last weather hope in an otherwise disappointingly mild winter was developing Monday, but the price reaction was somewhat subdued. Most eastern points ranged from flat to slightly more than a nickel higher, while western gains tended to be larger at about a nickel to nearly 15 cents. The stronger performance in the West was largely attributed to recovery from weekend softening, the absence of high-linepack OFOs in California and demand in the Midwest for more Rockies supplies.

Two U.S. senators have offered a bill that they hope will put an end to the bitter dispute over offshore drilling between the state of California and oil and natural gas producers who hold the remaining 40 leases off the state’s coast.

After pressing lower at the open, natural gas futures rebounded modestly Tuesday as traders played it safe amid a changeable fundamental and technical landscape. However, even the late buying surge was not enough to propel prices above Monday’s close, leaving the January contract with its second-straight losing session. The prompt month closed at $2.563, down 7.1 cents. Estimated volume of 110,574 was extremely high considering the relatively small price move and the absence of market-maker Enron. Historically, natural gas averages a volume of about 75,000 contracts, and 100,000-plus volume days are usually only seen during the last three days before a contract expires.

The $19.1 billion spending bill for the Interior Department and related agencies that was signed by President Bush last week has left some offshore industry officials optimistic that the administration may consider expanded leasing in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in the future.

The $19.1 billion spending bill for the Interior Department and related agencies that was signed by President Bush Monday has left some offshore industry officials optimistic that the administration may consider expanded leasing in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in the future.

After funneling lower for most of the week, natural gas futures finished on a positive note Friday, amid a late flurry of trading and speculative short-covering. Just when it appeared that futures would head listlessly into the weekend with its fourth straight down day, the market erupted higher in the last 85 minutes of trading, propelling the May contract to a 2.7-cent gain at $5.128.