Managed

An investment manager organization that leads a coalition of shareholder advocacy groups for social and environmental issues says progress has been made in the third year of its quest to convince natural gas operators to be more forthcoming over how they are managing the risks associated with hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead has extended an olive branch to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the dispute over preliminary results from two federally managed groundwater tests concerning contaminated natural gas wells near Pavillion, WY (see NGI, Dec. 12, 2011).

Futures managed to continue bounding higher Wednesday, but the physical market saw only modest gains around the country except for spots in the Northeast, which fell mostly between 25-45 cents.

The freefall in natural gas futures prices of the last few weeks received a small reprieve on Friday after the February contract managed to eke out a 2.1-cent gain to close the week at $2.343. However, market bulls might as well cool their heels as Friday’s close marked a 32.7-cent decline from the previous week’s close.

Western Energy Alliance’s (WEA) board of directors has selected Tim Wigley to be the trade association’s new president. Wigley comes to WEA from PAC/WEST, where he managed the firm’s Washington, DC, operations. From 1998-2002 Wigley served as president of the Oregon Forest Industries Council, an organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the interests of industrial forestland owners. WEA represents 400 companies engaged in all aspects of environmentally responsible exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the West.

February natural gas managed to gain ground Friday as weather forecasts showed impending cooler conditions in eastern and north-central states. At the close February had risen 8.2 cents to $3.062 and March had added 8.1 cents to $3.098. February crude oil eased 25 cents to $101.56/bbl.

Western Energy Alliance’s (WEA) board of directors has selected Tim Wigley to be the trade association’s new president. Wigley comes to WEA from PAC/WEST, where he managed the firm’s Washington, DC, operations. From 1998-2002, he served as president of the Oregon Forest Industries Council, an organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the interests of industrial forestland owners. WEA represents 400 companies engaged in all aspects of environmentally responsible exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the West.

January natural gas managed a third straight day of nominal gains Thursday as traders largely discounted storage data that showed an ever increasing surplus with no end to the above-average increases in sight. At the close January had risen 1.4 cent to $3.169 and February had risen 0.8 cent to $3.206. February crude oil added 86 cents to $99.53/bbl.

January natural gas managed a small gain Wednesday as traders saw an ongoing tussle between algorithmic traders taking profits on short positions matched up against a cadre of willing sellers. At the close January natural gas had risen 2.7 cents to $3.155 and February had gained 2.8 cents to $3.198. February crude oil gained $1.43 to $98.67/bbl.