Picking

With the federal government restricting access to traditional oil and natural gas plays, resources from emerging shale plays are picking up some of the slack, said the head of the American Petroleum Institute (API).

With the federal government restricting access to traditional oil and natural gas plays, resources from emerging shale plays are picking up some of the slack, said the head of the American Petroleum Institute (API).

ExxonMobil Corp. unit XTO Energy Inc. is picking up the Fayetteville Shale natural gas assets of Petrohawk Energy Corp. for $575 million. The deal puts ExxonMobil at No. 2 in the Fayetteville leaseholder pack.

Picking up where the action ended on Wednesday, December natural gas futures on Thursday continued to scout lower price levels. After breaking below $4 and recording a $3.917 low, the prompt-month contract went on to close the regular session at $3.927, down 11.9 cents from Wednesday.

After picking up 22.5 cents on Monday to break the $5 psychological resistance price level, the July natural gas futures contract added another 18.3 cents as an encore on Tuesday to close at $5.189. The move puts resistance tests at $5.250 and $5.500 now well within the realm of possibility.

Despite negative guidance from the prior-day screen, cash points for the most part Wednesday remained resilient with most spots picking up from a couple of pennies to just less than a dime.

Picking up right where they left off on Friday, natural gas futures traders on Monday continued to test the downside as the April contract recorded yet another new low for the move before closing out the regular session at $4.391, down just less than a penny from last week’s finish.

Picking up right where they left off on Friday, natural gas futures traders on Monday continued to test the downside as the April contract recorded yet another new low for the move before closing out the regular session at $4.391, down just less than a penny from last week’s finish.

Range Resources Corp. spent most of 2008 picking up prospective acreage in the Marcellus Shale, and by year’s end it had doubled its leasehold to 900,000 net acres. Now the production phase is kicking in, and Range plans to build its natural gas output from a current net rate of 30 MMcf/d to up to 100 MMcf/d by the end of 2009, the CEO said Wednesday.