Rights

The natural gas cash market on average added 6 cents Wednesday for Thursday delivery led by weather-driven gains in the Great Lakes and East. In fact, points across the country were firmly in the black on the day outside of a handful of northeastern spots and a couple of midwestern points. Futures managed to build on Tuesday’s gains and at the close, June was higher by 4.6 cents at $4.070, and July had added 4.5 cents to $4.113. June crude oil rose 9 cents to $94.30/bbl.

Forecasters at AccuWeather.com expect another active hurricane season this year, with 16 named storms, including eight hurricanes, four of them major (Category 3 or higher), to form in the Atlantic Basin, with as many as three hurricanes making landfall in the United States.

Noting that he hopes to stir more activity among federal agencies, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead on Monday unveiled a broad state energy strategy with 47 separate initiatives that over time he hopes to narrow in focus. The initiatives, many of which have existed in draft form for more than a year, make up what Mead called “a living document” that will change over time.

Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, counting the emissions from fuel consumption only, vary significantly across states, with Texas and California registering the highest carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions with 652.6 million metric tons (mmt) and 369.8 mmt respectively in 2010, according to a survey by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Cash natural gas prices were unchanged on average in Friday for weekend and Monday trading. Northeast points managed gains as weather forecasts proved supportive, but Rocky Mountain points were steady to lower, and eastern points fell a couple of cents.

Citing the action as an attempt to prevent public safety and environmental degradation, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Thursday approved a citation program under which its staff can levy fines, payable by shareholders, against public utilities.

Shares of W&T Offshore Inc. closed more than 15% higher Wednesday after the company reported first quarter adjusted earnings per share that beat expectations and CEO Tracy W. Krohn said during an earnings conference call that W&T is marketing a “sizeable” package of Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Continental Shelf properties.

Physical natural gas prices on average fell a penny in Tuesday’s trading as a weak screen, soft power market and lack of weather developments kept buyers and sellers from needing to pursue much in the way of incremental volumes. Most major trading hubs were down a few pennies, and in the Northeast quotes were mostly balanced on either side of unchanged. The East was unchanged to a penny or two lower, and at the close of futures trading June was down 9.1 cents to $3.920 and July had fallen 9.0 cents to $3.974. June crude oil slumped 54 cents to $95.62/bbl.

The Safety and Enforcement Division of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Monday recommended that regulators impose a total $2.25 billion penalty against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) for three penalty cases arising from the Sept. 9, 2010, pipeline rupture in San Bruno, CA.