Mining Companies Exploration and Investment News

A Jefferies analyst downgraded Basic Energy Services Inc. Monday, saying weak natural gas prices may slow growth at the oil and gas company.

Activity levels and profit margins in Basic Energy’s natural gas business “are still likely to struggle in a $5 natural gas environment,” analyst Judson Bailey wrote in a research note.
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Natural gas prices have slumped well below what they were last year, and that trend will likely continue into 2010.

The New York Mercantile Exchange contract for January delivery at one point dropped to a new 52-week low of $4.432 per 1,000 cubic feet on Thursday.

The government then reported that the amount of natural gas in storage rose again, surprising most energy experts. The country has never had this much natural gas in storage.
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Natural-gas prices will rise next month for Columbia Gas of Ohio customers, but the rate will be at one of the lowest levels in years.

Columbia customers will pay 56 cents per 100 cubic feet of gas in November, before taxes and fees, up from 49 cents this month, the company said yesterday. But next month’s rate will be 53 percent lower than the $1.19 customers were charged in November of last year.
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Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens said on Tuesday he has increased his long oil and natural gas position in recent weeks.
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Alberta’s natural gas industry is unlikely to return to its former prominence in the provincial economy, leaving a gap that will have to be filled through diversification, a report said Monday.

Already reeling from a precipitous drop in prices, the province’s natural gas industry faces major long-term challenges amid a glut of new supplies, according to the report by TD Economics.
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The Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects the monthly “Henry Hub” natural-gas spot price to average $2.32 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) in October, the lowest monthly average spot price since September 2001, according to the most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook.
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Gasoline prices rose more than 15 cents in the past two weeks, the result of rising crude oil prices, according to a survey published Sunday.

The average national price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline was at $2.6442, the August 7 Lundberg survey found, an increase of 15.83 cents from two weeks ago.
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After sliding about 8% last week, oil prices ticked back near $67 Monday, tracking a rise in equities.

Crude oil for November delivery rose 82 cents and settled at $66.84. In midday trading, prices topped $67, rising 2%.

“The main catalyst supporting energy prices is the stock market,” said Liberty Trading Group President James Cordier. “We’re getting a nice rally after last week’s selling.”
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