Reacted

Both cash and futures advanced Monday as cash traders reacted to a variety of factors ranging from somewhat cooler weather to nuclear outages. Futures advanced primarily on short-covering and revised weather forecasts, but traders are skeptical the gains will last. At the close March had gained 5.1 cents to $2.550 and April had risen 6.1 cents to $2.738. March crude oil fell 93 cents to $96.91/bbl.

February natural gas reacted to a weakening weather outlook and retreated under $3 again Tuesday. There remains little indication that the storage surplus will stop widening anytime soon, and traders look for continuing weakness. At the close February had fallen 7.0 cents to $2.941 and March had given up 8.0 cents to $2.970. February crude oil rose 93 cents to $102.24/bbl.

BP plc is selling its interests in the Pompano and Mica fields in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico to Stone Energy Offshore LLC, a unit of Stone Energy Corp. Stone Energy is to pay BP $204 million in cash under an agreement that includes the sale of BP’s 75% operated working interest (WI) in the Pompano field and assets and 50% nonoperated WI in the Mica field, together with a 51% operated WI in Mississippi Canyon block 29 and interests in certain leases near the Pompano field. Completion of the sale is subject to the pre-emption rights of various co-working interest owners. The companies expect to complete the sale in 2012, BP said. Both the Pompano and Mica fields produce oil and natural gas through the Pompano platform, about 120 miles southeast of New Orleans. First oil was produced from the Pompano field in October 1994 after being discovered by BP and Kerr-McGee in 1985. The Mica field, tied back to the Pompano platform some 29 miles to the north west, began production in 2001.

The two major credit rating agencies Thursday reacted mostly positively to $500 million in unsecured debt for El Paso Corp.’s pipeline partners unit, affirming its “B” ratings and designating the outlook as “positive.”

The natural gas industry and energy insiders quickly reacted to a New York Times (NYT) stories last Sunday and Monday which cited unnamed industry and government sources describing the shale gas industry as a “Ponzi” scheme with a future similar to Enron Corp. and the bursting of the dot.com bubble.

The natural gas industry and energy insiders quickly reacted to a New York Times (NYT) story on Sunday, which cited unnamed industry and government sources describing the shale gas industry as a “Ponzi” scheme with a future similar to Enron Corp. and the bursting of the dot.com bubble.

June natural gas futures rose in light trading Monday as traders reacted to forecasts of warmer weather but at the same time are seen as moderating their market exposure. At the close June futures had gained 11.6 cents to $4.346 and July was up 10.3 cents to $4.393. July crude oil sank $2.40 to $97.70/bbl.

June natural gas futures rose in active trading Friday as both oil and gas traders reacted to government warnings related to data showing al Qaeda’s interest in targeting oil and gas installations. At the closing bell June futures had gained 13.6 cents to $4.230 and July had risen 12.9 cents to $4.290. June crude oil gained $1.05 to $99.49/bbl.

May natural gas futures posted a stout double-digit gain Thursday ahead of an extended holiday weekend as traders reacted to a government inventory report showing storage gas to be somewhat less than anticipated. At the close May had advanced 10.2 cents to $4.412 and June gained 10.9 cents to $4.466. June crude oil continued its winning ways, posting a gain of 84 cents to $112.29/bbl.