Idea

The 450-odd residents of the tiny eastern Ohio village of Clarington likely have no idea that, according to Bentek Energy LLC, a natural gas clot of well over 1 Bcf/d will be barreling their way in June 2009.

The 450-odd residents in the tiny eastern Ohio village of Clarington likely have no idea that, according to Bentek Energy LLC, a natural gas clot of well over 1 Bcf/d will be barreling their way in June 2009.

September natural gas futures rose a stout 11.8 cents to settle at $6.208 as traders touted the still hefty discount of natural gas to the petroleum complex and the idea that weather-driven higher prices would ultimately occur.

The Interior Department inspector general said Friday his office is exploring the idea of taking over from the embattled Minerals Management Service (MMS) the auditing of offshore oil and natural gas royalties that are paid to the federal government. The MMS has been under constant attack for a year for its failure to collect billions of dollars of royalties that are owed by producers.

Four days after the rampaging Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Louisiana Coast the natural gas industry was beginning to get some idea of the extent of the damage to onshore facilities — some of which were still under water — and offshore rigs, platforms and pipelines, some damaged and some missing in action. But, Gulf-based companies had located most of their employees, Chevron was setting up a tent city for homeless workers, and production was starting to edge up.

Four days after the rampaging Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Louisiana Coast the natural gas industry was just beginning to get some idea of the extent of the damage to onshore facilities, some of which were still under water, and offshore rigs, platforms and pipelines, some damaged and some missing in action. The only sure thing was that Katrina would go down in the record books as “catastrophic,” and just about the most devastating storm in 100 years or more. The word heard over and over was “unbelievable,” which was an understatement.

Lending new credibility to the idea that last Friday’s $9.91 high might have been a top, September natural gas futures on Wednesday — with influence from a very weak petroleum sector — put in its lowest settle in four days.

While giving no indications that his own company plans to put a “for sale” sign in front of its headquarters, Mayo Shattuck, CEO of Maryland-based Constellation Energy, last Tuesday told a gathering of investment professionals that he expects consolidation in the overall power industry to accelerate in the years ahead.

Joseph Blount, chairman of the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA), last Thursday downplayed concerns that growing imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the United States could lead to the formation of a “cartel” similar to that seen in the global oil sector.