Machine

The Marcellus Shale could be a job-creation and economic development machine if natural gas producers are allowed to develop the huge play under appropriate regulatory and tax conditions, according to a new industry-backed study.

The winter weather machine was starting to rev up its engines again, with forecasts of lows around freezing or colder extending into most of the South, and the spot market responded with small to moderate increases at a large majority of points Tuesday. The return of industrial load from its greater-than-usual declines over a holiday weekend and Friday’s 7.2-cent uptick by March futures also played supportive roles.

The winter weather machine was starting to rev up its engines again, with forecasts of lows around freezing or colder extending into most of the South, and the spot market responded with small to moderate increases at a large majority of points Tuesday. The return of industrial load from its greater-than-usual declines over a holiday weekend and Friday’s 7.2-cent uptick by March futures also played supportive roles.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. kept its U.S. natural gas machine churning 24/7 in 2Q2008, and the results were enviable.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. kept its U.S. natural gas machine churning 24/7 in 2Q2008, and the results were enviable.

Independence Hub in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico is back up to moving 900 MMcf/d after an extended outage that was duly noted by the gas market. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said last Monday that repairs to the Independence Trail pipeline and subsequent testing were successful.

The “relentless, aggressive and malicious” environmental public relations machine is succeeding in delaying and restricting natural gas development in the Rocky Mountains “with no regard for the impact on the national gas supply” — and the situation is getting worse, not better.

The “relentless, aggressive and malicious” environmental public relations machine is succeeding in delaying and restricting natural gas development in the Rocky Mountains “with no regard for the impact on the national gas supply” — and the situation is getting worse, not better.

Looking like the readout on an EKG machine gone mad, natural gasfutures soared, dipped then rallied again yesterday as tradersdealt with a bevy of somewhat contradictory but certainly confusingpieces of fundamental news. With Wednesday’s 25.9-cent advance and$4.073 settle, the June contract climbed into the rarified air of$4.05-plus prices, which have been achieved only in seven othertrading sessions during the 10-year history of natural gas futures.