Severe

After four years of severe deterioration, gas-field contractors say the bottom of the slump is behind them and are predicting that Canadian drilling will increase this year.

The effects of global climate change, including severe droughts, excessive sea level rise, erratic storm behavior, deteriorating glaciers, pestilence and shifts in agriculture ranges, could increase instability and lead to conflict in already fragile regions of the world, witnesses said during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC, last Tuesday.

The effects of global climate change, including severe droughts, excessive sea level rise, erratic storm behavior, deteriorating glaciers, pestilence and shifts in agriculture ranges, could increase instability and lead to conflict in already fragile regions of the world, witnesses said during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.

Canadian producers are braced for severe summer price lows — possibly below C$2.00/MMBtu (US$1.80) — as international traffic in natural gas continues to slow down on oversupplied markets.

Canadian producers are braced for severe summer price lows — possibly below C$2.00/MMBtu (US$1.80) — as international traffic in natural gas continues to slow down on oversupplied markets.

Natural gas and oil exploration and development in Texas continued to decline through March for the fifth consecutive month, sustaining a trend that may lead to severe job losses in the state and ultimately skyrocketing energy prices, energy economist Karr Ingham said Monday.

TGT said Thursday it had resolved the severe weather problems that caused intermittent losses of land-line phone service, no cell phone service and connectivity issues with its GasQuest nominations system. However, its Owensboro, KY office was closed for a second day as a county state of emergency remained in effect, a spokesman said. A security office for Southern Star Central, which is also headquartered in Owensboro, said that pipeline’s office also was forced to close Wednesday by the winter storm and remained closed Thursday except for essential personnel.

While San Diego, CA-based Sempra Energy had little or nothing to say Tuesday to reports of severe financial losses being felt at its joint venture commodity training partner, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the red ink seems to keep growing and the United Kingdom (UK) government is planning to take even bigger stakes in its banking industry.

The market demonstrated once again Thursday that widespread severe cold is not necessarily a gas price booster. Prices dropped at nearly all points as two prior days of major futures weakness took their toll on the cash market. Increased use of storage was still believed to be supplanting potential new purchases of spot gas, and while frigid weather will last into the weekend in northern market areas, it would be less cold than before in many sections.