Revisiting

Revisiting his initiative to repeal the $4 billion in subsidies that taxpayers provide the oil and gas industry each year, President Obama last Thursday reiterated part of his State of the Union address that there’s only one real path forward for America’s future: an “all of the above” approach that develops every source of energy available.

Revisiting his initiative to repeal the $4 billion in subsidies that taxpayers provide the oil and gas industry each year, President Obama on Thursday reiterated part of his State of the Union address that there’s only one real path forward for America’s future: an “all of the above” approach that develops every source of energy available.

Faced with a widening budget deficit that some analysts place above $20 billion, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is revisiting a proposal to expand offshore drilling in order to generate more than $200 million of revenues. A proposal to open drilling offshore Santa Barbara County earlier this year was rejected by the State Lands Commission (see Daily GPI, Feb. 2).

Despite revisiting sub-$9 prices for the third time over the last four sessions, expiring August natural gas futures tiptoed out the back door instead of making a grand exit on Tuesday as the contract quietly recorded a 5.4-cent gain to go off the board at $9.217. In contrast, September natural gas shaved 6.5 cents to finish the day at $9.130.

After opening higher Monday, then revisiting the $9.20 high from last Thursday, December natural gas futures fell for the remainder of the session to settle at $8.72, down a half of a cent from Friday’s close.

After opening higher Monday, then revisiting the $9.20 high from last Thursday, December natural gas futures fell for the remainder of the session to settle at $8.72, down a half of a cent from Friday’s close.

By this summer, at least two more energy trading companies — more likely asset-light instead of asset-heavy — may be forced to file for bankruptcy, which will offer opportunities for other companies, and perhaps even an opening for new trading players, a panel of energy executives forecast Tuesday. Speaking at the UBS Warburg Global Energy & Utilities Conference in New York City, the panel agreed that companies most likely to succeed will be the multi-dimensional players, with balanced portfolios that operate in both high or low volatility markets.