Very

The 2009 natural gas price outlook is “still very ugly” and given the current over supply, even a colder-than-normal winter is unlikely to prevent a gas price collapse in 2009, Raymond James & Associates Inc. said Monday.

Broad energy legislation, which could very well include limited expansion of offshore drilling, is likely to be brought up in both the Senate and the House when lawmakers return from recess in September, a Democratic aide said.

Broad energy legislation, which could very well include limited expansion of offshore drilling, is likely to be brought up in both the Senate and the House when lawmakers return in September, a Democratic aide said.

ExxonMobil Corp.’s chief executive said last week that not only is increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) production still very necessary to meet the world’s insatiable gas demand, but also that his company plans to be the lead player in the movement.

ExxonMobil Corp.’s chief executive said Tuesday that not only is increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) production still very necessary to meet the world’s insatiable gas demand, but also that his company plans to be the lead player in the movement.

As results of the Alberta election sank in last week, a senior oil and gas business leader, faced with the very real possibility that oil and gas royalties will likely climb 20% next year, glumly described the industry as learning a hard lesson about its political standing.

As results of the Alberta election sank in Tuesday, a senior oil and gas business leader, faced with the very real possibility that oil and gas royalties will likely climb 20% next year, glumly described the industry as learning a hard lesson about its political standing.

Calling current times “very exciting but challenging” for the energy sector, FERC Commissioner Philip Moeller told an industry gathering in Seattle Monday that he thinks the California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO) long-anticipated Market Redesign Technology Update (MRTU) is going to come to fruition later this year, noting the usual qualifier that he was offering his personal opinion and not that of the federal commission. Moeller was a keynote speaker at the Law Seminars International conference, “Buying and Selling Electric Power in the West.”

Proving that resistance up at $7.500 is still very much intact, November natural gas futures on Friday put in a significant retreat. After breaching but failing to settle above $7.500 during the three previous regular trading sessions, the prompt-month contract Friday put in a $7.035 low before finishing the week at $7.041, down 33.3 cents from Thursday but 6.7 cents higher than the previous week’s close.