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No, it wasn’t a joke for April Fool’s Day. The April aftermarket did get off to a very strong start Monday with large advances across the board. Cash quotes got support in several areas: Tuesday forecasts of low temperatures around freezing or less from the Rockies/Pacific Northwest/Western Canada through the Midwest to inland sections of the Northeast; rising heat levels in parts of the South; an 11.3-cent screen gain Friday; and the return of industrial load from its typical weekend decline.

While it wasn’t the mammoth withdrawal of the previous week’s report, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Thursday morning that a hefty 200 Bcf was removed from underground natural gas storage for the week ended Feb. 1. The number — which was larger than some expected — supported the recent bullish move in natural gas futures. The March contract reached a high of $8.110 before settling at $8.102, up 10.8 cents from Wednesday’s close.

Lower natural gas and oil prices affected the profits of Marathon Oil Corp. in the first three months of 2007. However, for some of the larger independents, it wasn’t only lower prices — Anadarko Petroleum Corp. was hit by an unexpected international windfall profits tax, and at EOG Resources Inc., mark-to-market losses made a big dent in the bottom line.

Lower natural gas and oil prices affected the profits of Marathon Oil Corp. in the first three months of 2007. However, for some of the larger independents, it wasn’t only lower prices — Anadarko Petroleum Corp. was hit by an unexpected international windfall profits tax, and at EOG Resources Inc., mark-to-market losses made a big dent in the bottom line.

Looking back on the winter that wasn’t in his Monthly Energy Outlook issued March 23, Stephen Smith of Stephen Smith Associates is projecting wholesale natural gas prices near $6-$7 for the second quarter, “and depending on summer heat and hurricanes, possibly longer.”

TransCanada appears to have finally overcome its bad luck in getting towns to approve proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals. However, it wasn’t exactly a landslide decision. After having LNG projects rejected by two towns in Maine last year, the company’s Cacouna Energy project, which TransCanada and partner Petro-Canada plan to build in Cacouna, PQ, squeaked by with a 57% approval by voters in a nearby Quebec village.

Natural gas and oil production in the Gulf of Mexico fell sharply Wednesday as Hurricane Rita moved toward the Texas coast with 165 mph winds. And it wasn’t just the offshore that was in danger. Much of Houston business was shutting down, from office towers to refineries, as local officials advised businesses to close and citizens to evacuate coastal areas and parts of Houston.

Now that winter is over, most experts would have trouble ruling out the possibility of a test of market lows. But that clearly wasn’t happening in the cash market on Monday. Despite mild weather, high line pack on many pipes and weaker crude oil fundamentals, most points were up a nickle to as much as 15 cents.

Questar Corp. wasn’t too happy about Standard & Poor’s (S&P) decision to downgrade the debt ratings of its regulated subsidiaries, Questar Gas Company and Questar Pipeline, to “A-” and its commercial paper to “A-2.” S&P affirmed the BBB+ long-term rating of Questar Market Resources and assigned a stable outlook for each Questar entity. “Our credit ratings remain strong, and we’ll keep them strong,” said CEO Keith O. Rattie. “No specific event triggered this action. In fact, our credit metrics today are stronger than at any time in the company’s history, so we don’t expect this action to have a material impact on our borrowing costs or access to credit markets.” S&P said that Questar’s growing exploration and production (E&P) business benefits Questar Gas and Questar Pipeline when commodity prices are high, but exposes them to greater risk when prices are low. “S&P also cited a negative shift in Utah’s regulatory environment as a factor in its decision to downgrade the credit ratings of Questar Gas. But more importantly, S&P affirmed a BBB+ rating for Market Resources, our E&P business and Questar’s primary growth driver,” Rattie added.