Slightly

Supermajor ExxonMobil Corp., which controls a huge portfolio of unconventional oil, gas and liquids projects across North America, on Thursday disclosed that it has increased its leasehold in the Ohio portion of the promising Utica Shale.

Tuesday’s market was largely an extension of the one that started the week: quotes a bit softer at most locations but a few flat to slightly higher points keeping movement mixed overall. Even as restoration efforts get into high gear along the East Coast following Hurricane Irene’s damage, the overall weather outlook is too moderate to be supportive of gas prices.

Finding only relatively moderate cooling load for mid-August in many areas and weighed down slightly by the previous Friday’s near-nickel futures drop, nearly all of the cash market followed up Friday’s gains with softening Monday.

Most points remained on the slightly firmer side in ranging from flat to about a nickel higher. Losses of up to nearly a dime were most prevalent at Northeast citygates.

There was a new tropical storm in town Tuesday, but it failed to impact the gas market. Prices again were flat to slightly higher in most cases as forecasts remained hot in many areas but were easing downward in such key consuming regions as the Northeast and Midwest. The previous day’s 4.3-cent futures gain helped keep a floor under much of the market.

NGI’s Unconventional Rig Count edged up ever so slightly for the week ending July 22, rising to 987 rigs from 984 the previous week. Despite the pedestrian weekly advance, the current unconventional rig count remains a full 3% higher than the 961 rigs that were at work one month ago.

July natural gas futures expired on a firm note Tuesday as traders had to factor in a slightly higher weather premium as a tropical system was upgraded and near-term weather forecasts called for warm temperatures. At the close July natural gas rose 10.1 cents to $4.357 and August added 9.0 cents to $4.354. August crude oil surged $2.28 to $92.89/bbl.

May natural gas was again confined to a narrow 6-cent trading range and eased slightly in options-dominated trading Tuesday.

Consol Energy announced Wednesday that its plans to drill 70 wells in the Marcellus Shale play by the end of the year were slightly ahead of schedule, thanks to the 13 horizontal wells it drilled during 1Q2011.