natural gas

Stone Energy Corp. said it plans wrap up its Appalachian drilling program by the end of March, release its sole rig operating in the Marcellus Shale and suspend core operations in the region for the remainder of the year.

President Obama devoted several minutes of his penultimate State of the Union address to climate change Tuesday night, giving only two brief nods to domestic oil and gas production and only a passing reference to Congress working on a bill authorizing construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, despite his threat of a veto.

Noble Energy Inc. said an exploratory well drilled in the offshore Gulf of Mexico did not encounter commercial hydrocarbons. The company said the Madison well, which targeted the Upper and Middle Miocene formations, was drilled to a total depth of 16,859 feet from Mississippi Canyon Block 479. The well has since been plugged and abandoned, and the drilling rig released. Noble operated the well and had a 60% working interest (WI), while Stone Energy Offshore LLC held the remaining 40% WI.

Next-day gas prices Tuesday in the Northeast generally took their cue from near-term weather forecasts and a firm power market, but market centers and producing zones more in alignment with the Henry Hub followed the free-falling futures market and shed more than a dime. The overall market loss was 15 cents.

Natural gas forwards markets in the U.S. Northeast were revived this week, with prompt-month basis prices at the volatile New England hub surging more than $2 on a host of factors, including one that a regional trader said had nothing to do with fundamentals.

Louisiana’s Port of Lake Charles and the Panama Canal Authority have agreed to cooperate on marketing and other initiatives to attract liquefied natural gas (LNG) business. The canal is being expanded to accommodate the wider beams of LNG carriers; the canal is currently too narrow to allow their transit. The canal authority recently announced the rates it plans to charge LNG carriers as well as other shippers using the canal (see Daily GPI,Jan. 9). According to the canal authority, its agreement with the Port of Lake Charles will promote cooperation in marketing activities, information exchange, market research, training and technology, as well as other initiatives.

There was little interest Friday in committing to weekend and Monday deals, and prices fell hard and fell often.

Trading was mixed for the week ended Jan. 16, with prices at some locales dropping triple digits while others posted modest gains. TheNGI Weekly Spot Gas Average fell 45 cents to $3.32, but variations between individual market points were great.

Stephen Rineyhas been tapped byApache Corp.as executive vice president and CFO effective in February. He most recently served as CFO forBP plc’s exploration production business, where he oversaw all accounting, business development, planning and commercial operations for the upstream segment. He previously had spent nine years withAmoco, which merged with BP in 1998. Riney holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree from the University of Chicago.John J. Christmann IV, formerly COO of North America operations, has assumed the role of president and CEO following the retirement ofG. Steven Farris, 66, who had been CEO since 2002 and chairman since 2009 (seeDaily GPI,Jan. 20).