Sustain

Chevron Corp.’s portfolio is now in a position to sustain growth through the rest of the decade and is “not particularly needing to do a large transaction” in a North American shale gas play, CEO John Watson said Friday.

Chevron Corp.’s portfolio is now in a position to sustain growth through the rest of the decade and is “not particularly needing to do a large transaction” in a North American shale gas play, CEO John Watson said Friday.

Chevron Corp.’s portfolio is now in a position to sustain growth through the rest of the decade and is “not particularly needing to do a large transaction” in a North American shale gas play, CEO John Watson said Friday.

As expected, the post-holiday rally in cash prices was unable to sustain itself any longer in the face of receding weather-based demand and weakening futures support. Quotes fell at a large majority of points Thursday, although generally by small amounts. A few flat to a little less than a nickel higher locations resulted in mixed price movement overall.

As a marketer had correctly predicted, the cash market was unable to sustain Tuesday’s brief burst of firmness and was down at nearly all points Wednesday. The previous day’s 4.1-cent drop by September futures played a minor bearish role, of course, but it was primarily the subpar late-summer cooling load and continuing warnings about storage facilities soon being unable to accommodate further injections in many locations (see related story) that drove most quotes downward.

A marketer had perceived Monday that the growing abundance of major cooling load, especially in the central and southwestern U.S., would not be able to sustain that day’s rally at a majority of cash points because it was accompanied by a screen drop of just under a dime. He was proven correct as softness prevailed in most of the physical market Tuesday.

May natural gas futures were unable to sustain Friday’s 13-cent advance and stumbled badly as weaker crude oil and equity markets set a negative tone to the day’s trading. Analysts see no reconciliation between plump production and recession-diminished demand for another two quarters and suggest things could get really grim if next winter is mild.

Reduced natural gas drilling in North America may be enough to sustain unconventional production in the short term, but for the oilfield services sector, research and development dollars continue to be poured into more complex drilling technologies, which will be needed once activity resumes, the CEO of Schlumberger LLC said last week.

Reduced natural gas drilling in North America may be enough to sustain unconventional production in the short term, but for the oilfield services sector, research and development dollars continue to be poured into more complex drilling technologies, which will be needed once activity resumes, the CEO of Schlumberger LLC said this week.