Spent

Average household heating expenditures for the upcoming winter season are expected to be 15% more than last winter, increasing from an estimated $986 spent a year ago to a projected $1,137, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its combined Short-Term Energy and Winter Fuels Outlook Tuesday.

Capital spending worldwide on liquefied natural gas (LNG) is poised to reach new peaks between now and 2012 with $106 billion expected to be spent on export terminals, tankers and import terminals over the next five years, according to research by consultancy Douglas-Westwood Ltd. of the United Kingdom.

Capital spending on liquefied natural gas (LNG) is poised to reach new peaks between now and 2012 with $106 billion expected to be spent on export terminals, tankers and import terminals over the next five years, according to research by consultancy Douglas-Westwood Ltd. of the United Kingdom.

In the wake of the last-minute rescue of the Bear Stearns financial house by JPMorgan Chase, the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) and IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) spent last week reassuring traders that all their trading members, including Bear Energy and MF Global, were meeting their obligations.

The House Appropriations Committee last Tuesday voted out an appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2008 that calls for $2.75 million to be spent to purchase natural gas to heat and cool the Capitol building.

The House Appropriations Committee Tuesday voted out an appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2008 that calls for $2.75 million to be spent on the purchase of natural gas to heat and cool the Capitol building.

The “Big Six” — ExxonMobil Corp., BP plc, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips and Total — spent a record $63 billion on share repurchases and $35 billion more in dividends in 2006, according to a study by consulting firm John S. Herold Inc.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) said last week it has spent $575,000 to develop a new robotics system that will be capable of detecting flaws in polyethylene natural gas pipelines without disrupting operations. These plastic distribution pipes makes up almost one-quarter of the nation’s natural gas pipeline system.

Buoyed by geopolitical tension-induced strength in the petroleum markets, natural gas futures had no choice Monday but to go along for the ride. May natural gas put in a low of $6.680 in morning trade, but spent the rest of the afternoon exploring higher territory. The prompt month settled at $6.882, up 13.9 cents on the day.