Denver-based Barrett Resources Corp. has raised its estimate of proved reserves by more than 50%, which may pressure Royal Dutch/Shell to raise its offer of $55 a share in its hostile takeover attempt. Barrett said a review by independent reservoir engineers raised the company’s oil and gas reserves to 2.1 Tcfe, of which 96% is natural gas. Its previous estimate was 1.37 Tcfe.

The new projections of reserves followed a ruling by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission this week to approve a 20-acre increased density drilling that covers 16,000 acres of federal lands in the Piceance Basin. The ruling allowed Barrett to add 212 Bcf of proved gas reserves from 202 additional well locations in the basin.

“These reserve additions demonstrate the inherent quality of our core holdings in the Rocky Mountains and the success of our exploration and development strategy,” said CEO Peter Dea. He said the board of directors’ recognition of Barrett’s “high quality asset base” was a factor in its decision to reject Shell’s unsolicited offer of $55 per share as inadequate and to pursue a process it said would maximize shareholder value (see Daily GPI, March 26).

“That previously announced process is proceeding expeditiously,” Dea said. “We are committed to attaining a full appreciation of our assets for our shareholders.”

Shell’s offer for the independent has been extended until May 4. Its $55 offer per share is estimated to currently be worth about $2.2 billion, including $400 million in assumed debt. As of April 19, only 155,420 of Barrett’s 33.8 million shares had been tendered to Shell.

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