Varying

January natural gas declined Wednesday largely in concert with the petroleum complex and as traders braced for a government storage report with widely varying estimates but nonetheless anticipated to show a decline significantly less than historical averages. At the close January had slid 6.6 cents to $3.421 and February had given up 6.5 cents to $3.458. January crude oil dropped 79 cents to $100.49/bbl.

With a drilling industry begun in the mid-1800s and modifications to its decades-old oil and gas law in place, Ohio is well prepared for the kind of shale industry growth that has to varying degrees overwhelmed other states, according to Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA) Executive Vice President Tom Stewart.

With a drilling industry begun in the mid-1800s and modifications to its decades-old oil and gas law in place, Ohio is well prepared for the kind of shale industry growth that has to varying degrees overwhelmed other states, according to Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA) Executive Vice President Tom Stewart.

Most points stayed close to flat Tuesday in a cash market that seemed to have trouble deciding how to respond to varying weather and futures influences.

The cash market was approximately evenly mixed in up and down movement Wednesday as weather vagaries and the previous day’s screen downturn tugged at prices in varying ways. In general the West and Midcontinent were softer, while the Gulf Coast, Midwest and Northeast were mixed but leaning mostly to the upside.

Varying local weather conditions caused cash price movement to be mixed Tuesday, with most points ranging from flat to 15 cents or less up or down. Exceptions included Northeast citygates, which rose up to nearly 35 cents with a return of winter-like conditions there and in the Midwest forecast for Wednesday. But the really big gains came in the Rockies market, which rallied by triple-digit amounts from the plunges it had endured the day before.

Independent producers lambasted the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) plan to raise drilling fees and impose new permitting charges, saying it would increase consumer gas costs.

The cash market was a mishmash of higher, lower and flat quotes Monday as varying points reacted to a variety of weather outlooks and capacity constraints. There was little consistency of price movement within individual market areas other than the Northeast tending to see the greatest strength and Midwest citygates being solidly softer. The return of industrial load after a weekend hiatus provided a little support in all areas.

While harsh winter weather had already receded in much of the West and was due to do so to varying extents in the South and Midwest, it was still making itself at home in the Northeast. The result was a continuation of Northeast citygate spikes Tuesday, while the rest of the market either recorded considerably more modest gains or saw declines setting in at quite a few points in the West and Midcontinent.