The worries that tied the industry’s collective innards in knots a year ago, in anticipation of the misery to come, is pretty much past. After all, who has time to worry when we’re all so busy being miserable?

In fact, anecdotes aside, the word that one executive of a multinational energy company used to describe the mood at this week’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston was “cautious.” We’re going to get past this—it’s just a matter of figuring out how and when.

Another executive at an OTC industry breakfast, also with a multinational, agreed. Her job was to navigate the uncharted waters of Mexico’s energy reform and produce opportunities for her company.

There’s plenty of opportunity in Mexico, both onshore and offshore. Mexico has tremendous resources but needs help in developing them, and requires imports of natural gas and refined products in the meantime to drive its growing economy.

Which is why that “lower for longer” thing has become so irritating. The industry is itching to get back to work.

“Although we’re at the bottom of the cycle—we hope we’re at the bottom—we’ve been through this before, we can do it again,” Julie Wilson, Wood Mackenzie’s research director for global exploration told the conference breakfast crowd. “We should come out stronger from this period, a little bit leaner but probably stronger.”

Don’t look now, but oil prices are already quietly showing some strength. Benchmark Brent crude rose 6.7% to $48.13 per barrel (bbl) at the close of the June contracts on April 29 before easing down to around $45/bbl on May 6. Stratas Advisors credited the weaker U.S. dollar with propping up Brent and projects trading between $45/bbl and $47/bbl. The differential with West Texas Intermediate is forecast to be between 20 cents/bbl and $1/bbl.

Stronger but leaner also describes the hypothetical Mont Belvieu, Texas, NGL bbl, which this week found itself above $20/bbl for the first time since early November and, at $20.30/bbl, at its highest point since mid-October. Joining it in a happier place was the Henry Hub, La., benchmark natural gas price, which broke through $2 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) and struck a closing high of $2.05/MMBtu on May 5 not seen since mid-February.

The NGL barrel’s 3.5% rise over last week was triggered by a surge in propane prices. Mont Belvieu’s 49.32 cents per gallon (gal) average was its highest since the week of May 6-12, 2015, and the average weekly propane price at Conway, Kan., of 47.35 cents/gal was the highest since late April 2015.

Butane prices reached highs for the year at 59.89 cents/gal at Mont Belvieu and 59.13 cents/gal at Conway. Isobutane rose 5.8% for the week at Mont Belvieu, averaging 62.53 cents/gal, and rose 3.3% at Conway to 69.1 cents/gal.

C5+ prices had another good week at both hubs, setting highs for the year with 95.74 cents/gal at Mont Belvieu and 98.6 cents/gal at Conway. Mont Belvieu’s price is 48.3% above its low for the year in mid-February and Conway’s is 49.9% above its low mark, set in late January.

The rising tide did not lift ethane’s boat. After hitting highs for the year last week, the Mont Belvieu price dipped to 20.28 cents/gal from 20.36 cents/gal and Conway’s price slipped to 16.78 cents/gal from 16.90 cents/gal.

Natural gas in storage for the week ended April 29 increased by 68 billion cubic feet to 2.625 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. That is 48.8% above storage of 1.764 Tcf a year ago and 46.7% over the five-year average of 1.789 Tcf.

There were 74 total degree days for the week, 9% below the 30-year normal of 81 and 4% below the 77 recorded during the same time last year. A degree day is a quantitative index that shows demand for energy to heat or cool houses and businesses.

Envantage Inc. consultants expect the underground gas storage level to increase by 2.2% to 2.684 Tcf for the week ending May 13. Their forecast for the week ending May 20 is 2.777 Tcf and for May 27, 2.875 Tcf.

Joseph Markman can be reached at jmarkman@hartenergy.com and @JHMarkman.

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