Not long ago, the market was laboring under expectations that the NYMEX futures contract for natural gas would remain at around $3 per 1,000 cubic feet (or million BTUs).

The pundits were proclaiming that a surplus of shale gas, over production, and historic storage surpluses translated into long-term discounts in natural gas prices.

Last year's historically warm winter over much of the U.S. had not helped the price either.

While this year the weather is more seasonal, there are other factors in the price rise. For the investor this means there will be plays developing in specific areas that were simply nonexistent six months ago.

Make no mistake, we are not about to go back up to the $12 plus levels experienced a few years ago. Those days may be gone forever - one of the tangible impacts of the unconventional gas revolution (shale, tight, coal bed methane). There will still be volatility in this sector as the ongoing balance between extraction potential and well counts works itself out.

But we are likely to move into a manageable pricing dynamic.

And that means for investing in gas - with apologies to Sherlock Holmes - the game's afoot!

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