Wrong

Oil and natural gas operators appear to be on the wrong end of a turf war with the coal industry along the length of eastern Ohio, losing “significant” amounts of acreage in coal-bearing townships that also intersect with the state’s portions of the Marcellus and Utica shales.

U.S energy policy is on the “wrong track” and has been for several years, said American Petroleum Institute (API) President Jack Gerard last week. He called for the government to make a “course correction” by opening more public onshore and offshore lands to producers, which he said would significantly bolster employment and increase revenues to the federal government.

U.S energy policy is on the “wrong track” and has been for several years, said American Petroleum Institute (API) President Jack Gerard on Wednesday. He called for the government to make a “course correction” by opening more public onshore and offshore lands to producers, which he said would significantly bolster employment and increase revenues to the federal government.

Those looking for a natural gas storage injection Thursday morning ended up being equally as wrong as those looking for a withdrawal…sort of…as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that inventory levels remained flat during the week ending March 27. Further confounding traders was the disclosure by the EIA that it made “reclassifications” and “corrections” to the overall level of storage, which effectively canceled out what would have been a 9 Bcf injection for the week. The confusion sent May natural gas futures on an up-and-down odyssey immediately following the report before the contract ended up closing at $3.782, up 8.7 cents from Wednesday’s finish.

Integrated commodity risk management firm FCStone Group Inc. has became the latest firm to get caught on the wrong side of a natural gas deal as the company said it expects to incur an additional $60 million to $80 million pre-tax bad debt provision for 2Q2009 in connection with previously reported losses by “a significant energy trading account,” for which FCStone serves as the clearing firm.

Integrated commodity risk management firm FCStone Group Inc. this week became the latest firm to get caught on the wrong side of a natural gas deal as the company said it expects to incur an additional $60 million to $80 million pre-tax bad debt provision for 2Q2009 in connection with previously reported losses by “a significant energy trading account,” for which FCStone serves as the clearing firm.

Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s share price took another wrong turn Monday partly on its announcement last week that it would issue stock to raise nearly $1.8 billion to finance U.S. natural gas drilling and exploration activities.

A contractor working on a natural gas meter in an Allentown, PA, home on Saturday apparently removed the wrong fitting, which allowed gas to escape and lead to an explosion that leveled three homes and damaged a fourth, according to UGI Utilities. No one was seriously injured, according to authorities.

Looking to return what’s left of clients’ money after losing in excess of $6 billion on wrong-way natural gas bets during September, Amaranth Advisors LLC has hired Fortress Investment Group LLC to help sell its hedge-fund holdings, according to Associated Press reports. As part of the fallout, calls for the regulation of the over-the-counter (OTC) market and of hedge funds continue.