Private-equity investors say the pattern for 2012 is shaping up like a dumbbell curve. At one end are the high-dollar, high-return investments being made in marquee oil plays in the Permian Basin and the Bakken and Eagle Ford shales. At the other end are natural gas assets, where producers remain hunkered down, not getting much attention but not really seeking it anyway. These conditions are expected to persist or even grow more polarized through the traditional gas-storage season this summer, and only start to moderate as the heating season begins.
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