Insiders

The natural gas industry and energy insiders quickly reacted to a New York Times (NYT) stories last Sunday and Monday which cited unnamed industry and government sources describing the shale gas industry as a “Ponzi” scheme with a future similar to Enron Corp. and the bursting of the dot.com bubble.

It didn’t take long for the natural gas industry and energy insiders to react to a New York Times (NYT) story on Sunday, which cited unnamed industry and government sources describing the shale gas industry as a “Ponzi” scheme with a future similar to Enron Corp. and the bursting of the dot.com bubble.

The natural gas industry and energy insiders quickly reacted to a New York Times (NYT) story on Sunday, which cited unnamed industry and government sources describing the shale gas industry as a “Ponzi” scheme with a future similar to Enron Corp. and the bursting of the dot.com bubble.

Exploration and production (E&P) company insiders have a “profound sense of near-term caution” for 2009 and now expect natural gas and oil prices to average roughly 20% lower than Wall Street expectations, according to an informal survey by Raymond James & Associates Inc.

Exploration and production (E&P) company insiders have a “profound sense of near-term caution” for 2009 and now expect natural gas and oil prices to average roughly 20% lower than Wall Street expectations, according to an informal survey by Raymond James & Associates Inc.

April natural gas futures reached $10/MMBtu on Friday as many market insiders had been expecting this week, but the visit was short-lived as the prompt-month contract beat a hasty retreat. After notching a low of $9.705, April ended up closing at $9.769, up 2.7 cents from Thursday’s close and 40.3 cents higher than the previous Friday’s close.

Some exploration and production (E&P) insiders are expecting 2008 oil and natural gas prices to average up to 5% higher than Wall Street’s expectations, according to an informal survey by Raymond James and Associates Inc.

Some exploration and production (E&P) insiders are expecting 2008 oil and natural gas prices to average up to 5% higher than Wall Street’s expectations, according to an informal survey by Raymond James and Associates Inc.

After logging another day of strong gains across the board in the natural gas cash market, industry insiders were scratching their heads in confusion over the firmness, especially in light of bearish fundamentals. While some industry veterans said Tuesday’s strength was likely tied to the 47.1-cent climb in futures on Monday, others saw the mercurial rise in crude futures as having a “trickle down” effect on natural gas futures and cash prices.