Officially

With the Atlantic hurricane season officially begun and July natural gas closing at $7.878 on Friday, traders expected that another attempt at breaking above the $8 threshold could very well be in the cards in the near future. That future came earlier than expected on Monday as the prompt month punched above the psychological $8 resistance level to close at $8.191, up 31.3 cents on the day.

Spring officially began Tuesday evening, and despite a warming trend in the Midwest along with generally moderate weather already occupying the South, cash prices rose at a large majority of points that day. Several Rockies points spiked by dollar-plus amounts in rebounding from big plunges Monday, while most of the small losses were concentrated in Appalachia and at Northeast citygates.

Wrapping up the pleasantly weak 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially came to an end last Thursday, forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the seasonal activity was lower than everyone expected due to the rapid development of El Nino — a periodic warming of the ocean waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, which influences pressure and wind patterns across the tropical Atlantic.

Just days after the 2006 hurricane season officially — and quietly — ended (see NGI, Dec. 4), a respected London-based forecaster issued a much stormier outlook for 2007, predicting that 16 tropical storms are likely to occur in the Atlantic basin next season, including nine hurricanes and four so-called “intense,” or Category 3-5 storms.

Just days after the 2006 hurricane season officially — and quietly — ended (see Daily GPI, Dec. 1), a respected London-based forecaster on Thursday issued a much stormier outlook for 2007, predicting that 16 tropical storms are likely to occur in the Atlantic basin next season, including nine hurricanes and four so-called “intense,” or Category 3-5 storms.

Wrapping up the pleasantly weak 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially came to an end Thursday, forecaster at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the seasonal activity was lower than everyone expected due to the rapid development of El Nino — a periodic warming of the ocean waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, which influences pressure and wind patterns across the tropical Atlantic.

FPL Group Inc. and Constellation Energy officially called off their $31 billion merger Wednesday, several months after it became clear that the companies faced a protracted battle with Maryland legislators and regulators over the transaction.

Richmond, VA-based Dominion Resources and Norway’s Statoil ASA said last Thursday that they have officially broken ground on an expansion project that will increase capacity and storage at the Dominion Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in southern Maryland.

Richmond, VA-based Dominion Resources and Norway’s Statoil ASA said Thursday that they have officially broken ground on an expansion project that will increase capacity and storage at the Dominion Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in southern Maryland.