Today’s guest is David Galland, the managing director of Casey Research. David’s going to give us a look through the trained eyes of the Casey Researchers at the energy sector, more specifically, natural gas. So take a look and see why David thinks cheap doesn’t always mean buy. As always, be sure to leave us a comment on your energy strategies.

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At the height of its late 2005 rally, natural gas in the U.S. was selling for just over $16/MMBtu, 350% higher than today’s price of $3.56. The oil/gas ratio, now over 18, is an all-time high… suggesting that natural gas is dirt cheap. So, it’s a buy, right?

In a phrase, not exactly.

According to a recent report by Natural Gas Intelligence, U.S. natural gas available for production “has jumped 58% in the past four years, driven by improved drilling techniques and the discovery

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At the height of its late 2005 rally, natural gas in the U.S. was selling for just over $16/MMBtu, 350% higher than today’s price of $3.56. The oil/gas ratio, now over 18, is an all-time high… suggesting that natural gas is dirt cheap. So, it’s a buy, right?

In a phrase, not exactly.

According to a recent report by Natural Gas Intelligence, U.S. natural gas available for production “has jumped 58% in the past four years, driven by improved drilling techniques and the discovery of huge shale fields in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Pennsylvania, according to a report issued Thursday by the nonprofit Potential Gas Committee (PGC).”

According to the report, the increase in gas discoveries and production improvements means that North America shouldn’t have to be concerned about gas supplies for up to 100 years!

Dr. Marc Bustin provided an overview of the situation in the May edition of Casey Energy Opportunities.

In the ...

Luckily, I was bearish on oil until recently. I said to short oil when it was at $120 per barrel on 04/23/08. I was a little early to the party, but oil did drop below $33 a barrel in December of 2008. Oil plummeted $114 a barrel after reaching its record high last summer.

But, now I think oil has bottomed and will head higher. My fundamental and technical indicators are pointing to higher oil prices.

It’s disappointing that Americans seem to forget about our dependence on foreign oil as oil prices drop. In the 1970’s we got a wakeup call when people experienced gas shortages and rising fuel costs. Then it happened again, when oil spiked up to $147 a barrel last July. You heard lots of talk of switching to electric cars and cutting off our addiction to foreign oil. It’s disheartening that you don’t hear much about this

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Chile's gross domestic product expanded at the slowest pace since 2003 in the first quarter with mining output falling substantially and a drought cutting hydroelectricity supplies. Chile's economy expanded 3 percent in the first quarter from the year-earlier period, down from the 4 percent rise achieved in the previous quarter. In fact the economy grew 5.8 percent in the first quarter on a working day adjusted basis - ie taking into account public holidays etc (since easter was in March this year) - so the headline number isn't quite as bad as it looks.Indeed, quarter on quarter, GDP was up by 1.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis.The worst drought in 50 years in Chile lowered hydropower reserves as shortages of natural gas curtailed output by generators, resulting in a slowdown ...

Chile's inflation rate rose to the highest level since 1996 in February, raising expectations that policy makers will increase lending rates to a six-year high when they meet next week. Consumer prices rose 8.1 percent in the year through February, up from 7.5 percent in January, the National Statistics Institute said today. Consumer prices rose in the month from Januaryt by 0.4 percent.The annual inflation rate has tripled from 2.7 percent last February as the worst drought in over a century devastated crops and gas shortages and low reservoir levels forced generators to burn more expensive fuel. The cost of electricity in Chile surged 20 percent in the month and prices for fresh fruit and vegetables soared. Prices of tomatoes rose 20 percent while those for potatoes climbed 19 percent in February. On average, fruit and vegetables ...