Weekend

Oregon officials and news media were examining the viability of two remaining (liquefied natural gas) LNG receiving terminal projects last weekend following the bankruptcy of NorthernStar Natural Gas Corp. and its abandonment of the Bradwood Landing LNG project along the Columbia River. Based on news media reports, NorthernStar spent $100 million during the past six years of permitting for the Bradwood site, but company officials were unavailable to verify that estimate.

Following the weekend failure of the last best hope to collect oil spewing from a ruptured well a mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Monday brought talk of a “top hat” and “junk shots” — the latest ideas on how to collect leaking oil or seal the well — from BP plc CEO Tony Hayward.

Last week’s sinking of Transocean Ltd.’s Deepwater Horizon rig following an apparent well blowout went from tragic to worse over the weekend as oil began leaking from the well the rig had been drilling on Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (MC252). Last Friday evening the search for 11 missing crew members was abandoned.

Last week’s sinking of Transocean Ltd.’s Deepwater Horizon rig following an apparent well blowout went from tragic to worse over the weekend as oil began leaking from the well the rig had been drilling on Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (MC252). Last Friday evening the search for 11 missing crew members was abandoned.

Undeterred by the three-day holiday weekend break but bolstered by news that government production figures could be revised significantly downward, natural gas futures bulls on Monday managed to hold on to last Thursday’s momentum as the May contract gained another 19.1 cents to close the regular session at $4.277.

Undeterred by the three-day holiday weekend break but bolstered by news that government production figures could be revised significantly downward, natural gas futures bulls on Monday managed to hold on to last Thursday’s momentum as the May contract gained another 19.1 cents to close the regular session at $4.277.

Even with springtime weather becoming more in evidence in nearly all areas as the Easter weekend approaches, prices saw fairly substantive gains at nearly all points Wednesday. The screen breaking a recent losing streak with a 5.7-cent rally Tuesday obviously played a role, but sources suggested several other minor factors that may have combined into an up day for cash.

Even with springtime weather becoming more in evidence in nearly all areas as the Easter weekend approaches, prices saw fairly substantive gains at nearly all points Wednesday. The screen breaking a recent losing streak with a 5.7-cent rally Tuesday obviously played a role, but sources suggested several other minor factors that may have combined into an up day for cash.

Southern California Gas kept a high-linepack OFO in effect through the weekend and into at least Tuesday.