Soaring

McMoRan Exploration Co., which has made its name through discoveries of big, gassy fields in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), said Tuesday soaring costs from an unproductive well and impairment expenses ate into its revenues in the second quarter, sending the company to a loss for the sixth straight quarter.

New Mexico House Speaker Ben Lujan has introduced legislation to boost the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel. HB 198 would give consumers an alternative to soaring gasoline prices and providing some incentives to convert their vehicles to run on compressed or liquefied natural gas. Currently, there are nine natural gas transportation fueling stations in the state, and most of the natural gas vehicles (NGV) are owned by municipalities. Under the proposed law vehicle owners would be credited with 70% of the conversion costs to switch to an NGV after receiving a 40% federal tax credit between now and Jan.1, 2017. A similar bill passed the state’s House last year but died in the Senate Finance Committee. Lujan said the typical NGV costs about $1.76/gallon, compared with more than $3/gallon for gasoline-fueled vehicles.

Soaring Northeast gains that topped $4 in Transco’s two Zone 6 pools were way out in front of an across-the-board run of higher prices Friday. The weekend blizzard stretching from the Mid-Atlantic into the lower Northeast, along with forecasts of sub-freezing lows in the Midwest, Rockies, Canada and even parts of the South, were chiefly responsible for the firmness.

Soaring Northeast gains that topped $4 in Transco’s two Zone 6 pools were way out in front of an across-the-board run of higher prices Friday. The weekend blizzard stretching from the Mid-Atlantic into the lower Northeast, along with forecasts of sub-freezing lows in the Midwest, Rockies, Canada and even parts of the South, were chiefly responsible for the firmness.

Northeast citygates soaring by multi-dollar amounts were way out in front of price rebounds at nearly all points Friday. Winter storms were already under way in the Northeast and Midwest (to be followed by new ones during the weekend), a fresh storm was due Saturday in the already frigid Pacific Northwest, and the South could expect one more day of moderate conditions before a cold front brought a return of wintry weather Sunday.

July natural gas futures retreated Monday as much of the impetus for higher prices in play last week — forecast hot weather and soaring oil prices — dissipated. July dropped 8.9 cents to $12.604 and August dropped 7.9 cents to $12.684. July crude oil fell $4.19 to $134.35.

With oil and natural gas prices soaring, don’t expect oilpatch investments to slow down anytime soon, Raymond James & Associates Inc. said Monday.

Soaring citygate numbers in the Northeast, where a major Nor’easter was forecast to develop during the weekend, ran against the grain of falling prices everywhere else Friday. Weather moderation was expected to begin in some areas early this week, and a prior-day 21.5-cent decline by January futures along with the decline of industrial load that occurs during a weekend contributed further negative guidance for Friday’s cash market.

Hundreds of thousands of northern Illinois consumers have been slammed with soaring natural gas bills after switching services from traditional utilities to alternative gas suppliers, according to a consumer alert issued last week by the Citizens Utility Board (CUB). However, some of the competitive gas suppliers are crying foul over CUB’s analysis of their offers to customers.