Loss

A 7.1-cent drop by prompt-month futures a day earlier and the usual negative impact of industrial load loss over a weekend were outweighed by forecasts of continued near-freezing lows in much of North America in rallying most of the cash market to moderate gains Friday.

Southern California Gas said Friday the loss of 300 MMcf/d of storage injection capacity due to emergency turbine repairs at its Aliso Canyon facility had ended as expected.

The growth in U.S. energy development by 2030 will lead to a loss of habitat larger than Nebraska, regardless of whether cap-and-trade (CAT) legislation is enacted, the Nature Conservancy said in a new report.

The growth in U.S. energy development by 2030 will lead to a loss of habitat larger than Nebraska, regardless of whether cap-and-trade (CAT) legislation is enacted, the Nature Conservancy said in a new report.

September natural gas futures briefly rallied Thursday following the release of seemingly supportive inventory data but quickly reversed and ended up in the loss column. September futures fell 14.3 cents to $3.336 and October lost 9.4 cents to $3.673. September crude oil rose 36 cents to $70.52/bbl.

Cost cutting as a result of reduced drilling led Forest Oil Corp. to swing to a 2Q2009 profit of $37.1 million (36 cents/share) after posting a loss of $68 million (minus 78 cents/share) during 2Q2008. While the company reduced its drilling investment, management said for the remainder of the year the Denver-based company will focus its resources on its promising acreage in the Haynesville Shale and the Granite Wash.

Cost cutting as a result of reduced drilling led Forest Oil Corp. to swing to a 2Q2009 profit of $37.1 million (36 cents/share) after posting a loss of $68 million (minus 78 cents/share) during 2Q2008. While the company said it has reduced its drilling investment, management said for the remainder of the year the Denver-based company will focus its resources on its promising acreage in the Haynesville Shale and the Granite Wash.

Traders were at a little bit of a loss trying to explain the September natural gas futures contract’s 37.8-cent gain on Monday to close at $4.031. However, those same traders were mostly unimpressed with the day’s gains, noting that the price would have to move back above the old highs near $4.600 to elicit much talk of a momentum swing in the market.

As expected, the combination of generally light weather-based demand, further futures softness a day earlier and the extra loss of load associated with a long holiday weekend resulted in lower prices at virtually all points Thursday. Forecasts of mid 90s to 100-degree highs in the south-central U.S. and a warming trend to either side of 80 in the Midwest failed to increase cooling load enough to support the cash market.