Puts

Conventional wisdom says the bursting of the real estate bubble triggered the nation’s latest recession. But a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) puts the blame on energy — or rather the fact that citizens were forced to pay a greater percentage of their incomes for energy.

Conventional wisdom says the bursting of the real estate bubble triggered the nation’s latest recession. But a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) puts the blame on energy — or rather the fact that citizens were forced to pay a greater percentage of their incomes for energy.

North American operators are continuing to shift from conventional natural gas plays “to oil and shales, particularly the gas and condensate plays,” which puts Weatherford International Ltd. in a particularly strong position, CEO Bernard Duroc-Danner said last week.

North American operators are continuing to shift from conventional natural gas plays “to oil and shales, particularly the gas and condensate plays,” which puts Weatherford International Ltd. in a particularly strong position, CEO Bernard Duroc-Danner said Tuesday.

The timely and widely available information on natural gas physical and financial transactions puts the gas market ahead of other commodities in transparency and efficiency, according to a study by research scholar and author William P. Albrecht. The study, publicized by the Natural Gas Supply Association, finds that the information available to the natural gas market “has grown to a level that is unrivaled by other commodities. The system of index price formation and discovery is unique to the U.S. natural gas market and contributes substantially to price transparency and competitive pricing.” In the physical market the regular surveys of prices at dozens of locations conducted by independent publishers follow guidelines established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Voluntary participants in the survey “follow equally rigorous FERC-established procedures for the reporting of this data. The integrity of this structure has been well established for over five years and pricing information is available within the market for more than 25 Bcf/d, an amount equal in size to one-third to one-half of total U.S. natural gas consumption,” Albrecht said. In the financial market, the Nymex and IntercontinentalExchange electronic platforms provide real time transparency for futures, options and a large number of swaps.

The timely and widely available information on natural gas physical and financial transactions puts the gas market ahead of other commodities in transparency and efficiency, according to a study by research scholar and author William P. Albrecht.

Signaling the continued downward trend of wholesale natural gas prices, Intermountain Gas Co. puts its second consecutive purchased gas adjustment (PGA) rate decrease in effect Monday, while Spokane, WA-based Avista Utilities last Friday asked the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to lower its rates following a similar drop in the PGA.

The recent settlement between the Minerals Management Service (MMS) and the state of Louisiana that puts a hold on future lease sales off the state’s coast is part of an emerging trend in which states are gaining greater leverage and are renegotiating the terms of oil and natural gas production with the federal government, said a top energy analyst last Thursday.

The settlement between the Minerals Management Service (MMS) and the state of Louisiana that puts a hold on future lease sales off the state’s coast is part of an emerging trend in which states are gaining greater leverage and are renegotiating the terms of oil and natural gas production with the federal government, said a top energy analyst Thursday.