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North American natural gas markets face new challenges with greater demand and a need for infrastructure, but the industry — and regulators — should learn from past struggles and let the market help solve the problems, according to Mark Radtke, president of Integrys Energy Services, Inc.

An industrial consumer group said Monday that it was “alarmed and dismayed” to learn that the Bush administration’s fiscal year 2006 budget plan calls for cuts in funding for programs overseeing minerals management leasing and permitting.

Energy trading platforms TradeSpark, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and RedMeteor Inc. all recently reported that trading volumes on their individual platforms continue to head in only one direction…up. Online energy trading is expected to reach $3.6 trillion in 2005, fueled primarily by the growth of financial derivatives, according to a new report by Forrester Research. The report predicts several newcomers will eventually catch up to EnronOnline (EOL), the clear e-commerce leader in 2000, but several other independent exchanges could become casualties in the next few years.

The Eastern Gulf of Mexico Sale 181, which covers an area about 64 miles offshore Louisiana, 15 miles offshore Alabama and at least 100 miles offshore Florida, is still on track for December, Interior Secretary Gale Norton said last week — even though her boss President Bush and his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, have voiced opposition to opening up Florida’s coast for drilling.

The Eastern Gulf of Mexico Sale 181, which covers an area about 64 miles offshore Louisiana, 15 miles offshore Alabama and at least 100 miles offshore Florida, is still on track for December, Interior Secretary Gale Norton said this week — even though her boss President Bush and his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, have voiced opposition to opening up Florida’s coast for drilling.

Despite the numerous troubles that have plagued the deregulated Georgia retail gas market since its inception in 1997, Georgia Public Service Commissioner Bobby Baker said yesterday in an interview that other states need to realize business-related matters rather than regulatory and legislative snafus were primarily to blame for the difficulties.

Electric generation’s growing appetite for natural gas ispropelling rapid changes in the gas industry’s traditional businesspractices that will pose greater challenges to pipeline safety,says the chairman of the INGAA Pipeline Safety Task Force.

Natural gas pipelines have come a long way in their effort toprotect the public and environment from the potential threats posedby their systems, but the journey is far from over, says a keypipeline safety official with the Department of Transportation(DOT).

Even the most seasoned commercial gas futures trader is no matchfor the speculator these days. These little known futures playerswith no physical presence in the market have shown a real knack fortriggering major market moves and making big profits. They have agreat track record of buying futures at the market lows and sellingat the highs, while the commercial traders historically havestumbled into their buys near the top of price increases andmistakenly sold near the bottoms – “exactly the opposite way totrade if you want to make any money,” noted Susannah Hardesty ofEnergy Research and Trading Inc.