Reaching

Any NRG Energy Inc. shareholders who might be reaching for the “white proxy card” at the behest of their company’s management were urged last Thursday by NRG’s unwelcome suitor, Exelon Corp., to go for the “blue” card instead.

Despite crude futures reaching a six-month high on Tuesday, natural gas futures traders weren’t biting like they were on Monday as the June contract pushed back below psychological support at $4, stamping out the recent rally that saw a high of $4.575 less than a week ago. Even the early arrival of a Gulf of Mexico-threatening tropical disturbance wasn’t enough to prop natural gas futures up as the prompt-month contract closed Tuesday’s regular session at $3.914, down 22.5 cents from Monday’s finish.

Steadily increasing U.S. natural gas production will gradually catch up with stagnant consumption over the next few years, reaching 23.3 Tcf a year, just a whisker away from the projected 23.7 Tcf demand in 2014, according to a recent forecast.

Steadily increasing U.S. natural gas production will gradually catch up with stagnant consumption over the next six years, reaching 23.3 Tcf a year, just a whisker away from the projected 23.7 Tcf demand in 2014, according to a recent forecast.

In a case that could have far-reaching impact on natural gas pipelines, as well as electric transmission systems, Islander East Pipeline Co. has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court’s decision that let stand the state of Connecticut’s denial of a water quality permit for the proposed Connecticut-to-Long Island natural gas pipeline.

In a case that could have far-reaching impact on natural gas and electric transmission systems, Islander East Pipeline Co. has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court’s decision that let stand the state of Connecticut’s denial of a water quality permit for the proposed Connecticut-to-Long Island natural gas pipeline.

One day ahead of expiration, April natural gas futures pushed higher on Wednesday, reaching a high of $9.650 before closing out the day at $9.572, up 15.3 cents from Tuesday’s finish. However, the gains in gas futures were overshadowed by May crude, which shot $4.68 higher on the day to close at $105.90/bbl.

After reaching a 14-month high at $8.820, the March natural gas futures contract on Friday retraced some of Thursday’s gains to finish up the week at $8.660, down 11.2 cents on the day but 35.9 cents higher than the previous week’s close.

With oil futures prices reaching a record $100/bbl on Wednesday and Thursday, power generators and other traditional natural gas users may soon find themselves competing with everyday drivers for the precious commodity, if NGVAmerica has anything to say about it.