Archive for the 'Natural Gas' Category

The Associated Press / Forbes.com
July 10, 2009

DENVER — Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, who has made promoting renewable energy a cornerstone of his administration, on Thursday called natural gas “a mission-critical fuel” that is essential to the state and nation’s economy.

“Natural gas is a vital part of the new energy economy, a permanent part of the new energy economy, not a bridge fuel, not a transition fuel, but a mission-critical fuel,” Ritter told a crowd of industry officials at the Colorado Oil and Gas Association’s annual conference in Denver.

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By Steve Everly / The Kansas City Star
July 10, 2009

Oil and gasoline prices get the attention, but plummeting natural-gas costs are quietly freeing up billions of dollars and possibly setting up one of the cheapest heating seasons in nearly a decade.

Energy prices across the board have dropped over the last year, but the decline for natural gas has been especially dramatic. The commodity closed Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange at $3.37 per 1,000 cubic feet, a 73 percent drop from a year ago, when it was well over $12.

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After following oil higher, prices for natural gas slide–and take an industry along for the ride.

HOUSTON — As crude oil grabs headlines for trading above $60 a barrel, little brother natural gas seemed to be following. Since the end of April, gas climbed out of its $3.15-per-thousand-cubic-feet ditch to a recent $4.42.

But two bullies in the market–weak demand and unrelenting supply–suffocated a 40% gain this week. Thursday, the Energy Information Administration reported that natural gas inventories continue to climb faster than expected. Supply in storage is a third higher than it was this time last year, 22% above the five-year average. Small exploration and production companies have fallen by the wayside, seeking bankruptcy protection, while others teeter on stock prices measured in nickels and dimes. Gas traded Friday at $3.54, back in the trough where analysts say it belongs.

“Three words: Too. Much. Gas,” says energy analyst David Pursell, of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.

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