Noise

Chevron U.S.A. Inc.’s lease with a Marcellus Shale landowner in Fayette County, PA, allows the producer to construct an 11-acre freshwater impoundment to assist in drilling for natural gas, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled.

Setting aside the “near-term noise” in terms of North American natural gas fundamentals, prices should average below $4.00/Mcf this year, with summer contracts averaging around $3.25, Raymond James & Associates Inc. said last week.

Setting aside the “near-term noise” in terms of North American natural gas fundamentals, prices should average below $4.00/Mcf this year, with summer contracts averaging around $3.25, Raymond James & Associates Inc. said Monday.

Despite all of the other noise surrounding natural gas futures, the October contract still responded in a big way to Thursday morning’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage report, which revealed that an astounding 102 Bcf was injected into underground storage for the week ended Aug. 22. In its first regular session action as front-month, the October contract plummeted 55.8 cents to close at $8.050.

There was considerable activity and noise in both the House and Senate last week to open up additional areas — the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) — to oil and natural gas exploration and production. But it still remains to be seen whether this will translate into concrete action by lawmakers this year.

While market “noise” and the potential long-term negative economic fallout from continued high wholesale natural gas prices shroud the merchant electric generation sector in a blanket of uncertainty, the admitted pro-coal-fired generation NRG Energy CEO, David Crane, said five-year forward wholesale gas prices in the $6-$7 range indicate liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports may not be the ultimate price-lowering savior some proponents expect.

While there will be “a lot of noise” on Capitol Hill in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, energy analyst Christine Tezak doubts there will be “substantive legislation” adopted to change the way domestic energy markets operate.

Williams CEO Steve Malcolm remains concerned about the “noise” from the ongoing energy merchant industry investigations by FERC, the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the “uncertainty as to where those might lead.” Malcolm made the comments during a conference call last week to discuss the company’s third quarter earnings.

Williams CEO Steve Malcolm said Thursday he remains concerned about the “noise” from the ongoing energy merchant industry investigations by FERC, the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the “uncertainty as to where those might lead.” Malcolm made the comments during a conference call to discuss the company’s third quarter earnings.