Matching

British Columbia’s Horn River Basin could be the “best” natural gas shale play in North America, matching or surpassing any of the touted “Big Four” shale gas fields in the Lower 48 states, EnCana Corp.’s Mike Graham said last week.

British Columbia’s Horn River Basin could be the “best” natural gas shale play in North America, matching or surpassing any of the touted “Big Four” shale gas fields in the Lower 48 states, EnCana Corp.’s Mike Graham said Wednesday.

The cash market pushed on to new heights in most cases Tuesday, spurred by Nymex matching its all-time open outcry record high of $10.10 — if only fleetingly — and continuing winter weather across most of the U.S. and Canada that was penetrating even farther south to Houston and South Texas. It appeared that a growing near-panic over the adequacy of storage inventories was the primary driving force behind the move higher that brought some new point-specific price records.

Northern Appalachian natural gas production lags considerably behind the ramp up in the Rocky Mountains, but West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise said that he is pushing for his state to one day compete head-to-head with Wyoming. Wise spoke Tuesday in Charleston, WV as keynote for the Conference on Natural Gas from Coal Seams in the Northern Appalachian Basin.

A lot of cash points came close to matching the screen’s rise ofalmost a nickel Wednesday, give or take a penny or two. In additionto the futures influence, there was “a little bit” of cold here andthere to help generate a modest price rally, though still notenough cold to help much, sources said.