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Most of the cash market was moderately softer in post-Christmas trading Wednesday as forecasts of sub-freezing lows had become rather scarce outside the Rockies and some locations in the upper Northeast. Activity was predictably light as some traders remained out of the office on holiday vacations and Boxing Day was being observed in Canada.

Natural gas futures rose modestly in light, noncommittal post-holiday trading Wednesday. Traders noted that it was unusually quiet for an options expiration, and in spite of bearish fundamentals no one was willing to aggressively sell the market for fear of getting caught on the wrong side of a weather-driven price advance. Longer-term traders hint at a market bottom.

Lars Herbst has been named regional director of the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) region. In his new post, Herbst will manage the leasing of OCS lands off of five Gulf Coast states, and will supervise the regulation of operations and protection of the environment on more than 7,000 leases, which involve more than 4,000 platforms. He has been with the MMS since 1983. Herbst is a registered professional engineer in the state of Louisiana and holds a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering from Louisiana State University.

Natural gas bulls finally had their day in court as August natural gas futures were able to post the first positive close since Thursday of last week. The soon-to-expire contract rose 6.2 cents to $5.925 and the September contract gained 11.3 cents to settle at $6.062. Bears may have had the last laugh, however, as the August contract did manage to make a new low at $5.780 for the pervasive decline in place since mid-June.

A Washington Post editorial last Tuesday called on U.S. lawmakers to loosen some of the restrictions on oil and natural gas exploration and drilling in offshore regions that have been off limits to producers for years.

A Washington Post editorial Tuesday called on U.S. lawmakers to loosen some of the restrictions on oil and natural gas exploration and drilling in offshore regions that have been off limits to producers for years.

With post-Sept. 11 security concerns seen as a priority issue, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has unveiled a proposal that would require each applicant for a new nuclear reactor design to assess how the design, to the extent practicable, can have “greater built-in protections” to “avoid or mitigate the effects” of a large commercial aircraft impact, making the plants even more resistant to an attack.

Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Denise Bode is resigning her post effective May 31 to lead a new natural gas foundation in Washington, DC. Bode, who was appointed to the commission in 1997 by former Gov. Frank Keating, said she is in the process of forming the American Clean Skies Foundation. “Today, there is a national debate on climate change and energy,” she said. “We see policymakers promoting alternative fuels such as wind, solar, biofuels and nuclear. These are all legitimate alternatives — although some much less than others — yet none can offer energy in great abundance at a reasonable price any time soon. On the other hand, burning natural gas instead of the principal alternatives reduces greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 50%. We intend to make natural gas not only part of the debate, but the solution.” Bode said she has talked with gas industry officials about the foundation, including Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. However, she said the foundation “is not going to be a Chesapeake entity.” Chesapeake has admitted funding an anti-coal campaign in Texas (see Power Market Today, Feb. 20) Gov. Brad Henry, a Democrat, will name Bode’s replacement. Bode’s current term was to expire in 2010. Early in her career Bode worked as a staffer on Capitol Hill and later headed up the Independent Petroleum Association of America lobbying group in Washington.

It’s not happy post-holiday news for natural gas bulls when a pair of analysts write in their first market note of the year that their 2007 outlook “has deteriorated substantially from what we were expecting just a few months ago.”