Outlook

Using preliminary data from the Energy Information Administration between April and July, energy consultant Matthew Simmons said there is a “solid case” that mild summer weather and nothing else was the “storage savior” for natural gas going into the heating season.

Using preliminary data from the Energy Information Administration between April and July, energy consultant Matthew Simmons said there is a “solid case” that mild summer weather and nothing else was the “storage savior” for natural gas going into the heating season.

The mood on Capitol Hill Wednesday was cautiously upbeat as reports circulated that the feuding tax writers had made some headway on the disputed items in the multi-billion dollar tax package of the broad energy bill, prompting some aides and legislative analysts to venture that a final conference vote on the legislation could occur next week.

Like a weary traveller who comes home to gracefully pass on, the November contract moved quietly sideways and lower in expiration-day trading Wednesday as traders contemplated a market that had fallen perilously close to new one-year prompt-month lows after having soared during the month of October.

Kerr-McGee Corp. last week trimmed its third quarter oil and gas production outlook after running into problems in the Gulf of Mexico. The independent, which is maintaining its full-year guidance, warned that a wildcat well offshore under development could drop quarterly earnings 15 cents if it’s dry.

Kerr-McGee Corp. on Wednesday trimmed its third quarter oil and gas production outlook but maintained its full-year guidance after running into problems in the Gulf of Mexico. The independent also warned that a wildcat well offshore still being developed could drop quarterly earnings 15 cents if it’s dry.

In a much different forecast than some of its peers, WSI Corp.’s seasonal outlook for September-November calls for warmer-than-normal temperatures in all locations except for parts of the northern Plains and Great Lakes, with the warmest temperatures relative to normal expected in the Southwest.

New York City-based Weather 2000 said that while it is far too early to predict any specific early fall warm-ups or technical Indian Summer episodes, “our old friend,” the Warm-West/Cool-East Pattern, is expected to “stay for September.”

With little change in overall weather fundamentals over the weekend, the cash market generally emulated the screen Monday and sat back to await further developments. Most points were about a nickel or less up or down from flat; larger gains and losses were few, scattered and capped at 15-20 cents or so.