Wary

Two graduate students at The Ohio State University say their state’s policymakers should levy appropriate taxes on the oil and gas industry, be wary of hidden shale extraction costs and commit to good governance if they want to avoid the perils of boom-and-bust cycles common to other regions of the country rich in natural resources.

Amid forecasts that see no end to low gas prices across North America, overseas exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are being rated as a must for development of the Canadian version of shale supplies in northern British Columbia (BC).

While natural gas interests in California are wary about several proposed laws aimed at transmission pipeline operations in the wake of the San Bruno explosion last year, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is raising a red flag on another gas issue that is tied to some of the current proposals to begin cutting into a $25 billion state budget deficit.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) is casting a wary eye on gas-weighted North American producers with low-speculative-grade ratings. Such firms could face downgrades if gas prices fall below $6.50/Mcf, S&P warned in a note last week, but it conceded that gas prices should see support from fundamentals.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) is casting a wary eye on gas-weighted North American producers with low-speculative-grade ratings. Such firms could face downgrades if gas prices fall below $6.50/Mcf, S&P warned in a note Monday, but it conceded that gas prices should see support in the near term.

March natural gas futures stalled out for a second consecutive session on Wednesday as traders — still wary from last week’s storage surprise — opted to wait for fresh data Thursday morning before choosing a price direction. Despite continued cold dominating the northern plains and Northeast, the prompt month traded between $7.630 and $7.890 on Wednesday before closing out at $7.709, up 9.3 cents on the day.

Natural gas futures trading on Wednesday mimicked Tuesday’s lackluster performance. Bulls were wary of bidding the market up in the face of bearish fundamentals, while the bears weren’t ready to risk testing the lower $5 level with winter just a few short months away.

Cash prices were mixed on Friday with many points off 5-15 cents while those at some other locations were up 2-8 cents based on continuing uncertainty regarding Hurricane Ivan’s projected path and some buying interest at what might be deemed attractive price levels. On Friday, prices at many locations were still down 50-60 cents from September bidweek levels.

Stakeholder processes have their place in certain situations, but adopting such an approach to the crafting of clear, enforceable and mandatory electric reliability rules could prove to be extremely counterproductive, FERC Commissioner Nora Brownell told an audience of state utility regulatory commissioners last Monday.