Threat

Despite the threat of a lawsuit by the energy industry, Colorado regulators last week tentatively approved new rules designed to protect the state’s wildlife habitat from some oil and natural gas drilling operations.

Despite the threat of a lawsuit by the energy industry, Colorado regulators Tuesday tentatively approved new rules designed to protect the state’s wildlife habitat from some oil and natural gas drilling operations.

With a modest Northeast heat wave due to retreat, moderate to cool temperatures prevailing in most other areas and no tropical storm threat to offshore production in sight, prices fell at a large majority of points Wednesday. Flat to a little more than a dime higher quotes, concentrated in the Rockies and Pacific Northwest, brought a return of mixed price movement to the cash market.

Natural gas futures traders Friday shrugged off the threat of tropical development over the extended, three-day weekend and sent prices to their lowest levels of the recent down move. At $5.468, the October futures contract was down 16.7 cents on the day and 27.1 cents lower for the week.

With Hurricane Dean continuing to recede as a potential threat to U.S. offshore production, cooling load remaining sparse outside the South and Southwest and a near-dollar plunge by September futures the day before serving as highly negative guidance, the cash market continued to fall by mostly large amounts at all points Tuesday.

Declines of cooling load in the Midwest and to a slight degree in the South, along with the removal of one tropical storm threat to offshore production, resulted in falling prices at most points Thursday. The previous day’s 7.6-cent drop by September futures added another bearish note to Thursday’s cash market.

Coalbed methane used to be a deadly threat to coal miners. In the 1950s and 1960s natural gas was routinely flared as an unwanted by-product of oil production. Gas from shales and tight sands, once spurned as too difficult to produce, is now the future for many domestic producers. And methane hydrates lie beneath the world’s oceans waiting for technology to free them while liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers ply the waves above.

Coalbed methane used to be a deadly threat to coal miners. In the 1950s and 1960s natural gas was routinely flared as an unwanted by-product of oil production. Gas from shales and tight sands, once spurned as too difficult to produce, is now the future for many domestic producers. And natural gas hydrates lie beneath the world’s oceans waiting for technology to free them while liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers ply the waves above.

On Friday Tropical Storm Ernesto still looked very much like a viable threat to Gulf of Mexico (GOM) production, and cash prices were up at most points, although not by large amounts. The weekend passes. Traders return to their offices Monday to find Ernesto getting sapped of energy over Cuba and now projected to head north through eastern Florida and then farther up the East Coast.