Push

If you thought gas prices were high enough already, think again. The nation’s major natural gas producers said they are still struggling to grow gas supply, and their difficulties, combined with the need to refill storage during a slightly warmer than normal summer should drive prices even higher.

If you thought gas prices were high enough already, think again. The nation’s major natural gas producers said they are still struggling to grow gas supply, and their difficulties, combined with the need to refill storage during a slightly warmer than normal summer should drive prices even higher.

It’s now or never, and it’s not just the energy industry that’s pulling out all the stops to push a national energy policy through the Congress. Unnatural allies, business and labor, joined the rally with a press briefing Wednesday, the day before debate is scheduled to begin and a comprehensive energy bill, H.R. 6 is expected to emerge from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

After tumbling $3.42 from their $8.50 high on Feb. 28 with only one up-day, April futures finally found a bottom at $5.08 and bounced higher. The contract appeared to be headed for another large drop on Friday morning, opening the day with a sharp move to the downside. But at about 10:40 a.m. buying suddenly kicked in on oversold conditions and by the end of the day, April was up 6.9 cents at $5.430, not far from its daily high of $5.480.

Attempting to perpetuate an early program of the Clinton Administration — energy performance contracting for federal facilities — Sempra Energy Solutions and a contractors’ coalition told a Senate committee hearing last Tuesday that time is running out on the 10-year-old energy-saving program that they claim has resulted in tens of millions of dollars in savings for the federal facilities.

The prospect for renewed cold weather in the Midwest and Northeast early this week resulted in across-the-board cash increases ranging from about a nickel to 45 cents Monday. Most gains were between a dime and 30 cents.

Strong natural gas prices in the fourth quarter will help push producer earnings for 2002 and remain strong through 2003, in the range of $4.15/Mcf, according to an exploration and production outlook by analysts with RBC Capital Markets.

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, who has been quietly working to assuage landowners, environmental interests and the state’s lucrative coalbed methane (CBM) developers, said he wants to now encourage the state legislature to give agencies more flexibility to apply site-specific permitting. The state, already months behind in processing requests for the industry’s potential 51,000-well sprawl in the northeast Wyoming, has been further stymied by recent budget and staff cuts.

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, who has been quietly working to assuage landowners, environmental interests and the state’s lucrative coalbed methane (CBM) developers, said he wants to now encourage the state legislature to give agencies more flexibility to apply site-specific permitting. The state, already months behind in processing requests for the industry’s potential 51,000-well sprawl in the northeast Wyoming, has been further stymied by recent budget and staff cuts.