Sigh

The oil and natural gas industry breathed a sigh of relief Monday when Senate leaders said they would not consider the $3 billion omnibus lands bill during the lame-duck session this week. But the relief may be short-lived because they plan to take up the legislation, which would close access to millions of acres of public lands for energy exploration and other activities, when the new Congress convenes in January.

Natural gas traders on Tuesday breathed a small sigh of relief as the unpredictable Hurricane Ike changed paths to a more westerly course that should spare much of the Gulf of Mexico’s energy infrastructure. Despite the news, October natural gas futures settled almost unchanged at $7.535, due likely to the fact that it is still early and the storm’s path could very well change again.

Natural gas futures traders mostly breathed a sigh of relief Thursday morning as the outsized 108 Bcf injection of the previous week’s natural gas storage report proved to be a one-time thing. However, despite an only slightly bearish 93 Bcf injection report this week, October natural gas futures plumbed two-year old support before closing at $4.781, down 15 cents on the day.

Taking their cue from weakness on the petroleum side as well as a sigh of relief regarding Hurricane Ophelia’s path, October natural gas futures on Monday explored lower, breaking below $11 at one point before settling at $11.031, down 23.2 cents on the day.

With Hurricane Emily’s projected path shifting a little south to the northeastern Gulf Coast of Mexico, the futures market breathed a sigh of relief on Monday, bringing fixed cash prices down as well. Basis, however, widened at many market points due to the continued oppressive heat and humidity across most of the country that kept power generators active.

The energy industry breathed a sigh of relief Thursday morning as the Energy Information Administration reported that 123 Bcf was pulled from underground natural gas storage for the week ended Dec. 17. While higher than most expectations, the draw remained within the industry’s projection range — unlike the erroneous pre-Thanksgiving report that threw the market into chaos.

Powder River Basin producers breathed a collective sigh of relief after the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued its long awaited final decision on the environmental impact of a massive increase in coalbed methane drilling in the basin in Wyoming and Montana.

Powder River Basin producers breathed a collective sigh of relief after the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued its long awaited final decision on the environmental impact of a massive increase in coalbed methane drilling in the basin in Wyoming and Montana. About 14,300 wells already have been drilled on the Wyoming side of the basin, but producers needed BLM authorization to move forward with a 10-year plan to drill another 39,400 gas wells. In Montana, the BLM looked at the potential of more than 26,000 wells across the entire state.

Investors in Allegheny Energy no doubt breathed a collective sigh of relief last Tuesday after the company and its Allegheny Energy Supply Co. said that they have entered into agreements with lenders on new and restructured credit facilities totaling $2.4 billion.