future tied to price of natural gas

I hope i'm wrong but unless the price of natural gas rises substantially, I can't see the share price going anywhere anytime soon (unless of course there really is oil in EOK South in sufficient quantities).

For the price of natural gas to increase, there needs to be a permanent shift in demand. A seasonal change just from an exceptionally cold winter or unusually hot summer is just not going to be enough IMO.

The catalyst for this permanent shift in demand IMO will be from the following:

1) Increased use of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles in the US. While the Pickens Plan(http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan/) is trying to move this forward, local govts in some US states are already taking the matter into their own hands as per the article below.

Speaker urging increased use of natural gas for vehicles
http://www.tulsabeacon.com/?p=4672

CNG fueling stations are slowly starting to pop up in the US and local govts are already converting their fleet vehicles to use CNG. Over time, this should permanently increase the demand for natural gas. A key upcoming date is Nov 17 when a key procedural vote on the Natural Gas Act has been slated. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced legislation under the Natural Gas Act just before the recess on $4.5bn of incentives to aid the deployment of natural gas?fueled vehicles and refueling stations (there are also some incentives for the electric car). If this passes, it will be a game changer for the price of natural gas and for RFE.

2)Export of LNG from US
With the continued increase in natural gas supplies in the US due to shale gas discoveries, some companies are starting to consider exporting LNG. Chesapeake Energy based in Oklahoma is already in "very serious discussions" with regulators on this matter (refer article below):

Chesapeake Energy wants to export LNG

http://www.pennenergy.com/index/petroleum/display/6421909998/articles/oil-gas-financial-journal/unconventional/chesapeake-energy.html

Also relevant is the following article:

It?s Time For The U.S. To Export Natural Gas

http://blogs.forbes.com/christopherhelman/2010/09/27/its-time-for-the-u-s-to-export-natural-gas/?boxes=businesschannelsections

It really only makes sense. All the US needs now is political support and regulatory approval to make this happen. When it does gas prices should start to strengthen again.

Let's hope the US get's their act together.

All the best.