Reversed

Marathon Oil Corp. reversed the losses it incurred a year earlier to post a strong profit in the final quarter of 2009, but with troubles in its refining and marketing (R&M) sector, the producer plans to divert more spending in 2010 to the upstream to concentrate on its unconventional gas and oil shale plays.

Marathon Oil Corp. reversed the losses it incurred a year earlier to post a strong profit in the final quarter of 2009, but with troubles in its refining and marketing (R&M) sector, the producer plans to divert more spending in 2010 to the upstream to concentrate on its unconventional gas and oil shale plays.

Marathon Oil Corp. reversed the losses it incurred a year earlier to post a strong profit in the final quarter of 2009, but with troubles in its refining and marketing (R&M) sector, the producer plans to divert more spending in 2010 to the upstream to concentrate on its unconventional gas and oil shale plays.

Coming off Monday’s cold-induced 31.2-cent gain, the natural gas futures market reversed course Tuesday as the February contract trimmed 24.7 cents to close at $5.637. Despite the retracement, some traders believe the bulls — with weather on their side — still have their eye on another test of the psychological $6 level.

Natural gas futures bulls were corralled on Tuesday as the December contract reversed course from Monday’s gains and dropped below the important $4.60 support level. The prompt-month contract put in a low of $4.436 in morning trade and ended up closing out the regular session at $4.467, down 20.3 cents from Monday’s finish.

September natural gas futures briefly rallied Thursday following the release of seemingly supportive inventory data but quickly reversed and ended up in the loss column. September futures fell 14.3 cents to $3.336 and October lost 9.4 cents to $3.673. September crude oil rose 36 cents to $70.52/bbl.

The Alaska Natural Resources Commission reversed course last week and granted ExxonMobil Corp. and its partners permission to begin drilling operations on two of the 31 contested leases in the Point Thomson Unit (PTU) of the North Slope.

The Alaska Natural Resources Commission reversed course Tuesday and granted ExxonMobil Corp. and its partners permission to begin drilling operations on two of the 31 contested leases in the Point Thomson Unit (PTU) of the North Slope.

Keeping with the flip-flop trend of the week, a large majority of natural gas cash points on Wednesday reversed course from Tuesday and recorded gains of up to a half dollar. While the East, West Coast and onshore Gulf of Mexico area posted gains across the board, the Midcontinent saw a few declines mixed in with widespread gains. The Rockies had basically equal gains and losses.