Weeks

The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season during its first nine weeks has thrown little tropical activity at the U.S. mainland and energy interests in the Gulf of Mexico, but it has produced five named storms, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) expects as many as 14 more named storms to form this year.

The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season during its first nine weeks has thrown little tropical activity at the U.S. mainland and energy interests in the Gulf of Mexico, but it has produced five named storms, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) expects as many as 14 more named storms to form this year.

Calling newly proposed air emission standards to be imposed on the oil and gas industry an “overreach,” industry groups on Friday continued to lobby the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rethink its plans. In fact, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) warned that the standards could stifle natural gas production, which could promote the use of other less-clean energy sources.

Much like the preceding two weeks, the cash market got off to a strong start Monday. A tropical storm near the northern Bahamas posed essentially no threat to offshore gas, but continuing predictions of hot weather in most of the United States and parts of Canada, along with the previous Friday’s spike of 16.8 cents by prompt-month futures, were plenty bullish to cash traders.

While no named storms have formed during the first three weeks of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, it is still likely to produce 15 named storms, including eight hurricanes, four of them Category Three or greater — the same as the 1995-2010 average — according to forecasters at Andover, MA-based WSI Corp.

The cash market proved to be more resilient than expected Friday. Despite cool to merely warm forecasts dominating in most areas, the expiration-day drop of 5.3 cents by June futures a day earlier and the extra loss of industrial demand over a long holiday weekend, prices remained near flat in most cases and rose at several locations.

The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially begins in just two weeks, will be active but produce fewer tropical storms than previously expected, according to forecasters at MDA EarthSat Weather, who said warming waters in the Pacific Ocean will also keep a lid on summer temperatures.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. announced Friday it will immediately resume completion operations in Pennsylvania, a little more than three weeks after voluntarily suspending them following a well blowout in the northeast part of the state.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. said Friday it will immediately resume completion operations in Pennsylvania, a little more than three weeks after voluntarily suspending them following a well blowout in the northeast part of the state.