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It was hard to tell from mostly moderately lower cash prices Monday that a huge amount of gas had been taken off the Gulf Coast market, especially since Gulf and Northeast points tended to see the lion’s share of declines. The storm-induced offshore shut-in volume was expected to grow as the week wears on, so in consideration of great strength in the energy futures complex Monday, sources felt confident in predicting soaring prices Tuesday in most markets.

Numbers falling as low as the mid $0.40s in the Rockies and a flat Transco Zone 6-NYC belied an overall stronger cash market Tuesday. Excluding the Rockies and Transco citygate, gains ranged from about a nickel to about 20 cents, with those in the low to mid teens most common.

Oversupplied Rockies/San Juan gas failed to share in mostly substantial price gains throughout the rest of the market Friday. Virtually all of the upticks were measured in double digits, ranging up to about 40 cents higher in the Pacific Northwest.

Upstream production, mostly focused in North America and northwestern Europe, is the new ConocoPhillips’ strategy going forward, with up to 75% of the capital deployed toward exploration and production, the company’s E&P chief said Wednesday. Although the combined companies’ current production mix is 59% oil and 41% natural gas, by mid-decade gas production will be close to half.

Upstream production, mostly focused in North America and northwestern Europe, is the new ConocoPhillips’ strategy going forward, with up to 75% of the capital deployed toward exploration and production, the company’s E&P chief said Wednesday. Although the combined companies’ current production mix is 59% oil and 41% natural gas, by mid-decade gas production will be close to half.

Much of the cash market was essentially flat Monday, although Transco Zone 6-NYC and several Western Canada/Pacific Northwest points saw sizeable declines, while Rockies/San Juan numbers were up anywhere from a dime to about 30 cents. Otherwise it was rare for any point to vary more than 2-3 cents up or down from flat.

Prices ranged from flat to mostly moderately higher Friday in all regions except the Rockies. They got some follow-through momentum from Thursday’s screen run-up following a below-expectations storage report, and traders also were looking ahead to the return of Northeast temperatures in the 90s as this week begins.

Rather than extending FERC’s standards of conduct to cover mostly all energy affiliates of power/natural gas transmission providers, a Dominion Resources official proposed last week that the Commission focus on identifying the specific functions of energy transmission providers and their affiliates that could lead to sharing of competitive market information, and place restrictions in those areas.

Noting that the pipeline can’t even satisfy the demands of its existing shippers, a group of mostly producers has objected to El Paso Natural Gas’ negotiation of two new capacity contracts with PPL EnergyPlus LLC.