Risk

January natural gas is set to open a penny higher Monday morning at $3.02 as prices manage to hold $3 technical support and weather forecasts calling for cold remain mostly unchanged.

With U.S. oil and gas producers continuing to do their thing, America’s energy security continues to grow, according to the latest U.S. Chamber of Commerce assessment.

The oil and natural gas industry, and other stakeholders, should collaborate to quantify potential risks of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), according to DNV GL, a global maritime and oil/gas safety consulting and accreditation organization.

September natural gas is expected to open 7 cents higher Tuesday morning at $3.86 as overnight weather forecasts get teased warmer. Petroleum markets gained ground.

“If counterparties, such as banks…begin to disappear, our ability to manage our risk would be seriously impeded,” energy companies told Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

As the majors and other large oil and gas companies deploy up and down the Marcellus and Utica shales, a handful of smaller companies are targeting shallower formations like the Upper Devonian Shale, using hydraulic fracturing (fracking) at less expensive wells to achieve their own measure of success.

Friday deliveries of physical natural gas on average were unchanged in Thursday’s trading as most traders elected to get their deals done ahead of what can often turn into a market broadside once the Energy Information Administration (EIA) releases storage figures at 10:30 a.m. EDT.

The credit rating for PG&E Corp. and utility subsidiary Pacific Gas & Electric Co. face a “one-in-three probability” for weaker business and financial profiles over the coming year related to the San Bruno, CA natural gas pipeline explosion, according to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P).

The energy security risk faced by the United States as quantified by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce fell 6.6% last year from 2011, ending a two-year run of increases, thanks mainly to oil and natural gas production from shale plays, the Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy said Wednesday.