Signs

Signs of recovery in some sectors of the U.S. economy and rising consumer confidence have driven oil prices steadily higher in recent months, but other areas of the energy sector, including natural gas, have yet to be impacted by the “hope premium,” according to a report issued Monday by Ernst & Young’s Americas Oil & Gas Center.

It appears the natural gas bulls aren’t even allowed to hold on to a shred of price rebound hope as the recent signs of a firming crude futures market were proved incorrect Tuesday by a more than $4/bbl drop. Faced with the economic recession, plenty of gas and a forecasted warm-up in temperatures, February natural gas futures traded a slim 12.8-cent range before closing at $4.503, up 1.3 cents from Monday’s finish.

The cash market was showing more signs of weakness Wednesday as the latest blast of arctic cold was forecast to be receding in some regions. Many points in the Midcontinent and West that had been rising Tuesday were falling Wednesday by substantial amounts, and in many cases the remaining gains were considerably smaller than on the day before.

Exploration and production companies are looking to the Marcellus Shale and seeing dollar signs; so are Pennsylvania landowners whose acreage sits atop the shale and its gas reserves.

July natural gas futures showed some signs of weakness Tuesday, which had at least some traders wondering whether the 19.2-cent drop to $13.011 was something more than a small pullback in the larger bull move.

Exploration and production companies are looking to the Marcellus Shale and seeing dollar signs; so are Pennsylvania landowners whose acreage sits atop the shale and its gas reserves.

Leaving telltale signs that may be traced to renewable natural gas (RNG) from animal waste, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and its alternative energy partner BioEnergy Solutions struck paydirt last week in a biogas-to-pipeline injection project in the agricultural fields of Fresno County in California. It is the first project in the state to deliver pipeline-quality RNG to a utility, according to PG&E.

Leaving telltale signs that can only be renewable natural gas (RNG) from animal waste, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and its alternative energy partner BioEnergy Solutions struck paydirt Tuesday in a biogas-to-pipeline injection project in the agricultural fields of Fresno County in California. It is the first project in the state to deliver pipeline-quality RNG to a utility, according to PG&E.

With weather forecasts into March beginning to show some signs of thaw, March natural gas futures on expiration Wednesday probed lower for a majority of the session. The contract reached a low of $8.880 before going off of the board at $8.930, down 27.6 cents from Tuesday’s finish. The April contract, which will now take over as front-month contract, finished Wednesday at $9.060, down 19.2 cents.