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Front-month natural gas futures put in a new low for the larger down move on Friday as the April contract recorded a $4.540 trade before going on to settle at $4.593, up 1.8 cents from Thursday’s finish but 22 cents below the previous week’s close.

After weeks of blown storage report estimates that called for larger withdrawals than were actually revealed (see Daily GPI, Jan. 7), most of the energy industry was on target on Thursday as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that 153 Bcf was removed from underground storage for the week ending Jan. 1.

Although Northeast delivery prices continued to sink by fairly large amounts Wednesday, gains in the rest of the market were getting larger again as a new blast of arctic cold is anticipated in many areas before the weekend.

Largely due to a prior-day futures spike following a much-larger-than-expected storage withdrawal report, but also because of very cold weather continuing to dominate North America forecasts, cash prices were up at all points Friday.

As part of its much larger restructuring with British and European Commission (EC) financial authorities, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) confirmed last Tuesday that it will be divesting its interest in the fifth largest North American energy trading organization, RBS Sempra Commodities. Initial reports that this move was imminent surfaced out of the United Kingdom (UK) last Monday, and San Diego-based Sempra Energy issued a statement to clarify that any breakup would be orderly and could take several years.

As part of its much larger restructuring with British and European Commission (EC) financial authorities, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) confirmed Tuesday that it will be divesting its interest in the fifth largest North American energy trading organization, RBS Sempra Commodities. Initial reports that this move was imminent surfaced out of the United Kingdom (UK) Monday, and San Diego-based Sempra Energy issued a statement to clarify that any breakup would be orderly and could take several years (see Daily GPI, Nov. 3).

The global recession has impacted many small and mid-size natural gas and oil companies, but larger well capitalized companies “are busy preparing for the upturn,” according to a survey published earlier this month by Ernst & Young.

The global recession has impacted many small and mid-size natural gas and oil companies, but larger well capitalized companies “are busy preparing for the upturn,” according to a survey published Monday by Ernst & Young.

Racked by larger expenses than during last year’s quarter and an $11 million after-tax impairment charge related to its investment in the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) of India, IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE), the Atlanta-based operator of regulated global exchanges, clearing houses and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, reported Tuesday a 15% drop in net income. The company recorded 2Q2009 net income of $72.1 million (97 cents/share) down from $84.9 million ($1.19) during 2Q2008.