Unaffected

Seemingly unaffected by the significant strength in the petroleum sector, natural gas futures on Monday pushed lower as the tropics remained quiet and temperatures began to moderate in the U.S. After trading below the psychological $7 level in Sunday’s overnight session, September natural gas traded within a slim 21-cent range during Monday’s regular session before settling at $6.907, down 33.9 cents on the day.

An unmanned natural gas platform owned by EOG Resources located off the coast of Galveston sustained heavy damage Friday after being struck by a freighter, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. EOG on Friday said the platform has been shut in for about a month since Hurricane Ivan and said its lines were secured.

An unmanned natural gas platform owned by EOG Resources located off the coast of Galveston sustained heavy damage Friday after being struck by a freighter, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. EOG on Friday said the platform has been shut in for about a month since Hurricane Ivan and said its lines were secured.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said Tuesday that for now its downgrade of PG&E Corp’s merchant energy unit, the National Energy Group (NEG), will not impact the rating of Selkirk Cogen Funding Corp., of which NEG is a part owner, even if the PG&E unit is forced to seek bankruptcy. No announcements were scheduled on NEG’s efforts to improve its balance sheet.

With substantial interests in two privately-owned natural gas utilities that supply about one-third of the gas in Argentina, San Diego, CA-based Sempra Energy said last week that the South American nation’s current political and economic upheaval has had no adverse impact thus far on its energy infrastructure investments, but a spokesperson said the company was “obviously monitoring the situation closely.”

With substantial interests in two privately-owned natural gas utilities that supply about one-third of the gas in Argentina, San Diego, CA-based Sempra Energy said Monday the South American nation’s current political and economic upheaval has had no adverse impact thus far on its energy infrastructure investments, but a spokesperson said the company was “obviously monitoring the situation closely.”