Reserve

Questar Corp. plans to continue investing heavily in exploration and production (E&P) and reserve acquisitions in the Rocky Mountains and Midcontinent regions over the next few years to maintain its “good returns” on capital in its nonregulated businesses, and to lift the returns on its lagging regulated businesses. It also intends to sell off non-core energy assets to lighten its debt load, said the company’s new CEO Keith O. Rattie.

Thursday, it was deja vu all over again for both majors and independents reporting fourth quarter earnings. For the majors, Phillips Petroleum Co. and its merger partner Conoco both reported earnings declines for the final quarter of the year, while independent Houston Exploration Co. also saw earnings fall despite record production figures.

The Rocky Mountains over the past 20 years have been established as one of the largest natural gas reserve regions in the Lower 48, but there is no lack of challenges for exploration and production companies to access and develop the resource, according to Richard H. Lewis, CEO of Prima Energy Corp.

The Rocky Mountains over the past 20 years have been established as one of the largest natural gas reserve regions in the Lower 48, but there is no lack of challenges for exploration and production companies to access and develop the resource, according to Richard H. Lewis, CEO of Prima Energy Corp.

Showing a carrot, but keeping a “stick” in reserve, CaliforniaGov. Gray Davis Friday outlined for federal regulators steps hewill pursue to fix the state’s ailing wholesale electricity market,stopping short of proposing a state takeover but hinting he will gofurther if federal measures fall short.

Showing a carrot, but keeping a “stick” in reserve, CaliforniaGov. Gray Davis Friday outlined for federal regulators steps hewill pursue to fix the state’s ailing wholesale electricity market,stopping short of proposing a state takeover, but hinting he willgo further if federal measures fall short.

In the wake of President Clinton’s release of crude oil from theStrategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to mitigate heating oil pricesthis winter, Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AK) of the Senate Energyand Natural Resources Committee yesterday asked Energy SecretaryBill Richardson whether the administration had anything up itssleeve to reduce natural gas prices as the industry enters thewinter heating season.

Since coined by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan back in 1995 to explain investors’ love of stocks, “irrational exuberance” has come to typify the stock market and its unprecedented bull rally. But last week as stock prices plummeted again, the phrase was a more apt description of the natural gas futures market, which spiked 14% amid bullish technicals unpinned by concerns over a tightness of supply this summer and next winter.

Since coined by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan back in1995 to explain investors love of stocks, “irrational exuberance,”has come to typify the stock market and its unprecedented bullrally. But yesterday as stock prices plummeted again, “irrationalexuberance” was a more apt description of the natural gas futuresmarket, which spiked sharply amid a frenzy of short-covering andnew long accumulation. When all the dust had settled and the orderstabulated in the data room at Nymex, the numbers were staggering— the June contract rose a whopping 24.1 cents to finish at$2.689, setting a new 30-month high at $3.73 during a session thatsaw 102,978 contracts change hands.