Upheaval

An upheaval in investment and operational strategies is roiling the energy industry, in large part because of unconventional natural gas and oil resources, and it’s not all about supply and demand, ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance said Tuesday.

Rapid-fire events in the energy sector upheaval preclude development of a comprehensive national energy policy right now, according to an energy expert with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

Rapid-fire events in the energy sector upheaval preclude development of a comprehensive national energy policy right now, according to an energy expert with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

North American upstream companies affected by political upheaval in North Africa and the Middle East should be able to manage cash flow implications, Fitch Ratings said in a report. Higher crude price realizations, insurance recoveries and capital expenditure reductions should offset any cash flow issues, the report said. U.S.-based integrated companies with exposure are Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp. Independents include Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Apache Corp., Hess Corp., Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Pioneer Natural Resources Co. In addition, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Nexen Inc., Suncor Energy Inc. and Murphy Oil Corp. have operations in the region, Fitch said.

Despite the havoc wreaked by the twin Gulf of Mexico hurricanes and the upheaval in the credit markets, third-quarter oil and natural gas production oupaced year-ago levels and second-quarter activity, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported Friday.

Devastating storms in the third quarter jolted energy markets and sent natural gas prices soaring, but despite the upheaval in prices and the continuing entry of new investment bankers into the marketplace, natural gas trading in North America continues to stabilize and grow, up an estimated 4%, to 96.45 Bcf/d from 92.81 Bcf/d a year ago, according to NGI’s latest gas marketer survey.

Devastating storms in the third quarter jolted the energy markets and sent natural gas prices soaring, but despite the upheaval in prices and the continuing entry of new investment bankers into the marketplace, natural gas trading in North America continues to stabilize and grow, up an estimated 4%, to 96.45 Bcf/d from 92.81 Bcf/d a year ago, according to NGI’s latest gas marketer survey.

After a re-examination of its prior forecasts in light of the upheaval in the energy markets last year, the American Gas Association has concluded that its prior gas demand projection may have been a little on the high side and its price forecast quite a bit too low. In an update of its February 2000 report “Fueling the Futures: Natural Gas and New Technologies for a Cleaner 21st Century,” AGA said demand now is projected to grow 53% (up 33.6 quadrillion Btus) by 2020 rather than the 60% (35 quads) it projected earlier and prices should reach $5.60 in 2020.

North American utility companies continue to move ahead withe-business plans, despite the recent upheaval in the Internetindustry and the volatility of the energy market, according to astudy by Chartwell, a researcher based in Atlanta.